Charon's Pursuit
by Pathwarden
Summary: A Raichu named Charon, harboring a checkered past, lives a solitary life in the sylvan wilderness, content to keep to himself and live life as it is. One day, he learns of a herd of chus in his region, and seeks them out for a second chance. Completed.
1. Charon

**Author's Note: **I recently caught a slight technical error regarding the physical description of charon. That has been fixed. Thanks to the reviewers for the kind words thus far, by the way. Also, Chapter 2 is already partway done, however, it might be delayed due to college responsibilities D: . At best, ch.2 should be done before the week is over.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Charon's apple was delicious. Biting into the sweet flesh of the red fruit held in his brown paws whilst reclining on a sturdy branch of a thick oak tree high up in the forest's canopy, the male savored the tranquility of the moment. It was a clear sky in midday, and the sun's luminescence pierced through the sylvan canopy, basking Charon in natural warmth that gleamed off his apple, already half-devoured. Peaceful moments, Charon believed, were meant to be prolonged and treasured, thus he chewed slowly, letting the succulent taste please his tongue. Deep down he wished the moment could last forever...but he already knew it was an empty wish. He was living in the wild, after all.

Charon, as he has called himself since his moment of birth, is known to the human and animal world alike as a Raichu. He, like any healthy Raichu, presented an impressive physique: light-orange fur; a height of two foot seven; large, tapered, sensitive ears with the accent of slight curly-Qs; a rodentine face with olive eyes and yellow cheeks; a large, heavy body, the underbelly colored white, possessing considerable physical power (for someone weighing around 30 kilograms), with powerful, oversized hindlegs that could crush watermelons with a single stomp; and, last but not least, a raichu's pride and joy that was the long, wire-like tail topped with a jagged head that could be swung like a metal flail.

Yes, raichus are more than well-equipped for defending themselves. But alas, they are a rare sight in the wild, and more often than not the power that a raichu possesses leads to a brutish, thug-like behavior that is feared by all. Such is the life of Charon: living day-to-day as a solitary male, relying mostly on himself, the male raichu is cursed by a prejudiced reputation that makes friends amongst fellow rodents, nevermind potential mates, just about impossible to earn. It depresses Charon somewhat, but after a few months in the wild he has learned to endure, despite how his frustrations can lead to a blood-boiling anger.

Living life in the wild was something of a bipolar existence to the lone creature on the branch. One moment he'd be starving to death, desperately clamoring for some food; the next moment he'd be bored to tears, often for several days straight, mainly because there was no others he could call upon for company. Of course, there was also the occasional "run-like-hell-to-escape-death-and/or-capture" moments...but due to some certain natural talents, as well as the aforementioned stereotype that labeled his race as ruthless, relentless brutes, those moments proved as rare as spotting a fish in the desert. Still, there were some instances where things got an interesting twist...such as right now.

The quiet whisper of rustling leaves teased Charon's large ears.

_I'm not alone, _the Raichu thought calmly, _Is it that snake again?_

Charon let out a quiet, long sigh. Ever since he came to the region, a venomous snake named Synope had declared the raichu the "ultimate prize for his predatory instinct." Normally, Charon would take great heed to such a threat...but it soon became obvious that Synope's hunting skills sucked harder than a baby on a pacifier. **Elephants** had more stealth than Synope could truthfully boast about. Every attempt on Charon's life by the pathetic snake has ended in spectacular failure...and yet Synope still tries.

_Oh well, at least it will pass the time, _Charon thought.

Charon bit into the apple once more, getting in one last taste of the fruit. Pretending to be oblivious, he listened as the rustling of Synope inched closer and closer. The brief moment of peace heightened his senses, thus he could almost envision the lackluster hunter sliding amongst the branches, ambitions of grandeur and fame clouding the reptile's eyes and judgement. He chewed and swallowed.

_I've been going too soft on him, _Charon thought, tensing the muscles in his right forepaw as he slightly leaned forward, _Maybe if I pin him to the tree and bare my teeth? And throw some sparks in as well. That should scare him away for awhile...unless he's a damn masochist...now, just a little closer, Synope..._

The moment came. Charon snapped around, seizing the stalker by the neck. Dropping his apple, the Raichu thrust the weight of his arms against the tree trunk, slamming the stalker violently against it, as the half-eaten fruit plummeted to the ground below. Sparks of electricity danced around Charon's cheeks as the raichu menaced the stalker with a façade of bloodlust.

But then, the Raichu gasped in shock. "Ack! You're not Synope!"

Indeed it wasn't. Trapped in Charon's chokehold, a tiny, yellow mammal, with a small, black, bent tail and stared back at the raichu with widened eyes, its tiny feet kicking in futility as it hung pinned to the tree trunk, gasping for breath as tears of horror began to drip from its olive eyes. This wasn't just any other mammal: it was a child of Charon's own race! A pichu!

_Oh, shit! _Charon cursed in his mind, as he immediately released his grasp, allowing the youngster to collapse against the trunk. With a yelp, the pichu pressed its back against the tree trunk, trembling as it cowered before the raichu that dwarfed it. Charon found himself drowning in a tidal wave of guilt, for he could see that the pichu thought it was going to die. But then again...where the hell did this pichu come from? Last time he checked, there were no herds of his kind around here...

"Please, please don't kill me!" The youngster cried, looking up at Charon, a torrent of tears flowing down its rosy cheeks, its squeaky voice revealing a feminine gender, "I didn't mean to spy on you! I won't ever-ever-ever-ever-ever do it again! JUST DON'T KILL ME! WAAAAAH!"

"Oh, hell," Charon muttered, pulling at one of his curly-qs. He tried to calm the pichu down: "Kid, I didn't mean to-."

"I'll do anything! ANYTHING! Just as long as you let me live!" The pichu cried further on, now sobbing beyond consolation as her head bent down, no longer able to look into the face of Charon. The theatrics of the whole spectacle began to strike a very sensitive chord in the raichu, who was now usurped of his patience.

"For crying out loud, would you CALM DOWN?!" Charon snapped, frustration getting the better of him, "I'm not going to kill you!"

That tiny, emotional outburst proved to be a terrible mistake. The pichu, her senses shattered from fright, yelped again. Desperate to do anything to escape the presence of Charon, she tumbled off the side of the branch, not looking where she was going. Charon gasped once more, and instinctively dove to grab the youngster before it could fall to its doom. Now, lying on the branch, his outstretched paw held the frightened, young female by the tip of its tiny tail, as it hung upside-down above the unforgiving ground.

"Let go of me! Let go! Let go!" The pichu cried, now wriggling to get free, much to the raichu's dismay.

"I don't know who you are, but stop moving! If I lose my grip, you could die!" Charon exclaimed.

"You're going to kill me anyway! WAAAAAH!"

"I am NOT going to kill you! If I wanted to do that I wouldn't have saved your life 10 seconds ago."

"Mommy said raichus like to lie to and torture girls like me!"

"WHAT?!?"

The pichu gave no response. In another fit of desperation, the pichu bent upwards to bite down hard upon Charon's paw. Charon, having never been bitten before, experienced a lapse in common thinking and rolled off the branch he was lying upon as the little rodent's teeth violated him, causing him to cry out in pain. Raichu and Pichu both fell down to the awaiting earth. Charon landed hard on his back, the air in his lungs knocked out completely, as the pichu used the raichu as a cushion. Not wasting a moment's time, the pichu dashed away into the wilderness as Charon gasped for air, the youngster most likely never to be seen again by the loner.

_Damn it, _Charon thought, slowly lifting himself off the ground, _These stereotypes are going to be the end of me..._

* * *

After the incident, Charon needed to refresh himself. The lake to the north of the forest proved to be the best place for such refreshment. Being a raichu, he had no fear of the volatile fish that sometimes jumped to shore to shoo away the landbound creatures. This was because of the electricity that he, as well as any member of the Chu species, could discharge from his cheeks. Raichus happened to wield this natural defense with tremendous power, making Charon and other raichus the bane of water creatures everywhere. Thus, he could wade a fair distance into the water and enjoy a relaxing swim, while drinking the cool freshwater at the same time. 

As he swam, though, the incident from before began to gnaw at his conscience. Up until now, he had assumed that he was the only Chu living in the region. But a Chu's own litter had been spying on him. Pichus don't spring out of the ground, and their parents would most likely be part of a herd.

This possibility changed everything. Before, Charon figured that he would always be the odd one out, as he had been for most of his life, regardless of residence, and had grown accustomed to living life as a lone wolf. But now, members of _his own kind_ were living SOMEWHERE right under Charon's nose.

"That would mean," Charon muttered, as he emerged from the water to dry off at the shore, "That would mean...I could finally have someone...to call a mate...and this time, it won't be like before...not like before at all."

Charon, resting on all paws, shook the moisture out of his fur like a dog. Once satisfied, the raichu stood back on his hind-legs, and stretched his back.

"But I can't just search for them aimlessly...I need help on this...but who's going to help a Raichu?"


	2. In The Cave

**Author's note:** And here is chapter 2. Be sure to let me know how I am doing...I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing (although a bit defensive) and would appreciate the constructive criticism.

**Chapter 2**

The darkness of night fell upon the region. As the nocturnal creatures of the forest awakened and embarked on their routines, Charon sought shelter in an inconspicuous cave southeast from the lake. Judging by the size of the cave, the raichu worried that it may already be occupied by Ursaring, a species of bear that tended to be quite hostile towards trespassers. However, no one appeared to be inside, thus Charon made himself at home.

It was quite dark inside the cave, and the touch of the rock walls chilled the raichu's flesh. There was a time when he'd worked endlessly to try to make a fire...but now, Charon cared nothing about it. None of the other animals knew how to start a fire; why should he be any better off? It was a comfort from times past that he believed he did not deserve.

Charon desired to fall asleep in the pitch-black of the cave; but it eluded him skillfully, for a slight, icy breeze churned in the cave whilst the noises of the nocturnal creatures seemed to grow into an even louder din than usual. He tossed and turned in futility for quite a few minutes before giving up completely.

Charon sighed, laying on his back, as he looked up into the ceiling. "I've never been much of a sleeper since I got here," he muttered to himself.

Staring into the darkness, the Raichu's thoughts wandered around memories of times long gone. Childhood...family...friends...crushes...a time of peace and ignorant bliss. But then he stopped himself. Whenever he thought about the past, stumbling upon the sour parts was inevitable...and some parts, he recalled, were especially sour...the kind of memories that can take a long time to endure.

He moved on to listening to the nighttime atmosphere. Hooting owls...chirping crickets...the rapidly approaching sound of scurrying feet...wha?

Charon shot up to his hind-legs. "Someone's coming!" He said under his breath. "Dammit, can't I be left alone for just one moment? I have to hide before I'm seen!"

Charon quickly scanned the premises. Since his eyes got accustomed to the pitch black of the cave, he spotted a large shard of rock that seemed to have thrust from underneath the ground. It was large enough to hide Charon from peering eyes entering the cave; as long as he stayed quiet the darkness would take care of the rest. At once the raichu took cover behind the rock and pressed tightly against it, silencing his breath, holding his long tail against his chest to keep it out of view.

The scurrying grew louder and louder until it quietly died away to the sound of slow footsteps. Voices spoke, their tones fitting the tones of a male and female...but as to what species, Charon couldn't tell:

"Finally, we've found shelter at last! Fate looks kindly on us this night," said the male voice.

"Oooh...this cave looks really big!" the female voice commented in awe.

"Yes, I'd assume an Ursaring would take residence here."

"Eeep!"

The male laughed, "No need to worry my dear! There hasn't been any Ursaring in these parts for quite some time. Still, you can rub up on to me all the same."

SMACK!

"Oow! What was that for?"

"You scared me, you jerk!" The female snapped.

"No need to hit so hard, though...my cheek, it is throbbing!" The male whined.

Charon quietly sighed. _The devastating bitch-slap...I've been on the receiving end of that before...urgh, _the raichu thought.

A few moments passed. "Well...I guess we can get comfy now," said the female.

"No, not yet," interjected the male, "While there are no bears in this cave, there could be other creatures hiding here that would not hesitate to pounce upon us. We should make sure no one else is here."

Charon's heart skipped a beat. _Oh, shit..._

It appeared that being spotted was now inevitable. The scenarios raced through Charon's mind. He knew that no matter what, they would instantly label him hostile and instinctively drive him out...if not attempt to kill him outright. He had no idea what kind of creatures he was dealing with, and if the situation erupted into a fight he'd be outnumbered two-to-one.

_I should've snuck out when I had the chance, _Charon thought, mentally beating himself, _I didn't want this..._

"So, um...how are we going to do that?" The female asked her male companion.

"Easy, we flush them out with fire." The male responded.

_Shit!_

"Ooooh! That sounds fun!" the female said joyously.

"Is it never?" The male stated confidently, "Now, on the count of three."

_What the hell did I do to deserve THIS!? Damn, damn, damn, damn, DAMN! _Charon thought. The frustration fed into the charge of his electricity, which seemed to boil his very blood. Sparks began to cackle around his cheeks, and his teeth were bared by anger.

"One..."

Suddenly, Charon grabbed at his curly-qs, pulling down hard, as his jaws clamped together, pressing with an extreme force. If Charon hated anything above all else, it was losing control. He did not want to lash out, expelling the full force of his electricity. It could kill them. But if he didn't do something, the raichu himself could end up dead.

"Two..."

But his furious energy still had to go somewhere...and thus, Charon directed it not in his cheeks, but somewhere else:

"STOOOOOP!"

Charon's violent scream silenced the very atmosphere of the forest. Hearing the sudden gasps and scuffling from behind the rock, Charon could tell that the male and female were no less terrified.

"W-who's there?" The male stammered, "S-s-show yourself, or else I'll b-b-burn you to a c-c-crisp!"

Charon breathed deeply in and out, bringing his tone of voice back to normal as best as he could. "My name is Charon. I'll come out...but only if you promise not to attack. I mean no harm," he called to them, squelching his anger.

"Come out s-s-slowly," ordered the male, "No s-s-sudden movements."

Charon sighed, "Alright."

The Raichu relaxed his muscles, no longer forcing his weight upon the rock that hid his presence. Taking slow steps, he inched his way out from his hiding spot, making sure to keep everything easy. He did not want to react the wrong way if the male and female happened to be very, very huge. Hopefully, _they_ won't either.

At last, when he was fully exposed to the male and female, he finally saw them in the flesh. It was no mistake about it...the male and female were none other than the forest's other rarity: the red-furred, six-tailed, fire-breathing foxes, known to the world as Vulpix. The fluffiness of their tails, the cute curl of hair on their heads, and their small size in general (the raichu was nearly double the size of one of them) hid well the fact that the two of them could burn down the entirety of the forest with their awesome possession of the flame. Now, in the darkness of that cave, Charon stood face to face to two such powerful creatures, huddled together, both whom glared at him with their own mix of awe and terror.

"Uuuuuh....hello?" Charon said, waving his left forepaw weakly, while the other paw scratched the back of his head.

_So...awkward..._


	3. Lily and Calien

**Chapter 3**

It felt like an eternity. There, inside the cave, barely illuminated by the glow of the moon in the sky, the three of them – a male vulpix, his female counterpart (close to his side,) and Charon – stood opposite of each other, apprehension keeping one side from conversing with the other as they were entwined in an uneasy stare. Having never met, but knowing fully well the violent potential each side possessed, neither vulpix nor raichu could determine how to break the ice that petrified the lot of them, even though Charon had attempted a weak greeting. However, this could not go on forever.

The raichu attempted to talk a second time, keeping his tone as gentle as possible. "Well, um...how are you two doing?" Charon managed to eep out, growing tenser as he mentally slapped himself for asking such an inane question.

"To be honest...I've felt better," the male vulpix responded hesitantly. His dark-red paws dug slightly into the rock below him. The female didn't respond, for out of the three she possessed the most fright. She pressed close to the side of her companion. She whispered something into the male's ear. Charon couldn't hear the words, but it was painfully obvious she wanted to get away from the raichu as soon as humanly possible.

Charon sighed, his tension killed by guilt for the female's dismay. He leaned against the face of the rock behind him, and slid down into a sitting position, his long tail laying flat to the side. He stared down to the ground, as the two vulpixes continued to stare.

"I...well...um..." The raichu tried to say, but the words he wanted to say eluded him. Charon wanted to apologize, to explain why he hid himself, and to assure them that they could stay in the cave without worry for harm. But he didn't know how. Charon was certain whatever he said would mean little, for there was no reason the two foxes should trust him. He was a raichu. Raichus were selfish brutes, not deserving of any trust...

The male vulpix summoned the courage to speak. "W-w-why were you hiding from us, raichu?"

"Charon. My name is Charon," the raichu said grimly.

"...Oh. Charon...why were you hiding from us?"

"Hell if I should know," muttered Charon, looking away from the frightened foxes. "I just wanted to stay out of trouble. But, as you can see, that backfired hella-quick."

"...Oh," responded the male, taken aback by the change in demeanor.

Charon looked back towards them. He saw that they were still terrified. _Dammit._

"I know you have no reason to believe me, but I don't want to hurt either of you," Charon said, "All I want is a place to stay for the night. The three of us could sleep here without any trouble, since there's plenty of room...but you don't trust me at all. I don't want to drive you out, but something tells me I'd get driven out anyway...just because you have no way to trust me."

Once again the foxes were taken aback, their tension now wavering slightly, gradually replaced by neutral uncertainty. It seemed now that they were not quite sure what to make of Charon. Hardly aggressive the raichu appeared, for he seemed more..._melancholy_. The impression certainly had an averse affect on the female, who now seemed close to expressing pity, a feeling she never thought she would consider for a raichu.

"Maybe...if we got to know you better, we could trust you?" The female meekly suggested.

Her male companion, for a moment, turned his head to her, his face contorted in surprise...but concern regarding the raichu in front of him demanded that he keep his focus on Charon. Though tensions were easing, no one really knew where all this was going to lead to.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea; but that could take a long time between the three of us, and it's already late. I'm sure you two would rather get some shuteye. I know I would." Charon said.

A moment of silence passed.

The male vulpix broke the silence. "I think I have an idea, Charon. How about we let my mate, Lily, rest in the cave, while you and I take duty as the night watch? That way, we can keep an eye on each other."

"What? Calien, no!" Lily protested, "You're the one who needs sleep! You've done the night watch for five straight nights!"

"Honestly, Lily, I'm perfectly fine," Calien rebutted, "Also, if you were to be the night watch with Charon, I would not be able to sleep a wink anyway."

Charon sighed. _He's got the worst-case scenario in his mind...I wouldn't blame him. Vulpix like Lily are prime targets for the broken...even if the season isn't spring._

"What am I, a twig?!" Lily cried, baring her teeth as she confronted Calien, her pointy ears folded back in anger. "If Charon DID try anything, I'd roast him good! Now go to sleep, you NEED to rest!"

"And if something happens to you, then what? Don't take an unnecessary risk!" Calien cried back, now growling. The two vulpix were now fixated on each other, the flames of bickering surging between the two, as Charon watched the spectacle unfold in disbelief, hoping the two wouldn't resort to violence.

"I'm NOT a weakling!"

"You were terrified of him two minutes ago!"

"So were you!"

"If he attacked us, you would've run away!"

"So would YOU!"

"I don't care! What he could do to you is infinitely worse than death, and I will never let even the risk of such an atrocity to occur so long as I draw breath!"

"AAAAGH!" Lily cried, "You want to be a night zombie? Fine! You can just forget about tomorrow! SEE IF I CARE!" And with that, the female vulpix angrily trotted a small distance away from Calien, and lied down on her stomach upon the rock of the cave, curling up to feign sleep.

_What? What's so important about tomorrow? _Charon thought, eyeing Lily curiously. The raichu pondered the possibilities, taking a few things into account: the recent arrival of the spring season, the female's youthful appearance, and the look of pure dismay on the equally youthful male's face as the declaration of his vixen sunk into his mind, not to mention the welling of tears that threatened to stain his cheeks. _Ooooooh. THAT. _Charon couldn't help but let escape a minor grin from his face, seeing how skillfully the female made use of her resources. But that grin was quickly erased as he watched poor Calien literally slink down, devastated by the impromptu ultimatum.

"T-t-that...that...that's not FAIR!" Calien whined, his ears hanging limp, as well as his tails. "I've waited my whole life for that moment, and now you want to barter it so I'd get a few hours of sleep?! This is cruel and unusual!"

"I'm not liiiisteniiiing, I'm...yawn...oh so sleepy..." the maiden vulpix sang softly.

Calien scurried up to his mate, stricken with panic. "No, wait! Please! Don't do this to me, Lily! I just want to be a good mate! Have a heart! LILY!"

Lily slowly uncurled herself, looking up to Calien's tear-stricken face as she laid on her stomach. "Calien...I know that you love me, and you want to protect me...but if you try to be my savior all the time you're gonna die before you ever see our litters." She rose to her paws, and closed the distance between herself and Calien, comforting him with the soft rubbing of the side of her muzzle against his. The male fox sighed, resigning himself to this special comfort.

"Charon doesn't seem so bad, but I'll keep an eye on him. Let me protect you for tonight, ok?" Lily asked gently, delicately pulling away from the embrace.

Charon thought it was a good time to speak up. "I can promise you that my paws will be absolutely hands-off," the raichu stated, rising up upon his hind-legs. "And If anyone tries anything on her, I'll show no mercy."

"And what if _I'm_ the one that has to save your sorry butt?" Lily asked, poking fun.

Charon sighed. "Whatever. You cover my six, and I'll cover yours."

Lily cocked her head. "My 'six'?"

"It's an expression," Charon replied.

"Well," The male vulpix said, defeated, "I guess I'll respect your wishes, Lily, and get some rest for tonight."

"Ok!" Lily said happily, "Charon and I will be right at the mouth of the cave, ok, sweetie?"

"Alright."

The raichu and the female vulpix, now that the matter had been settled, walked calmly towards the mouth of the cave, keeping a respectable distance from each other. _So much for avoiding trouble,_ thought Charon.

"Charon?" Calien spoke up.

The raichu stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

"I just want to let you know that my sense of smell is very keen. If anything were to happen to Lily, I assure you that I will not stop hunting you until you are _dead_."

"Calien, please," Lily protested, "It's been a rough night, but I'll be _fine. _Now go rest."

"Fine, fine," the male vulpix conceded, laying down upon the ground, curling up for a night's rest, but facing towards the mouth of the cave in order to keep an eye on Charon.

_I really do hate paranoid creatures,_ Charon thought in irritation, as he turned back and continued towards the opening of the cave, following Lily, who had assumed the lead. _It's a wonder that they even trust themselves..._

_I just hope that the rest of the night is calm._


	4. Idiot

**Author's Note:** And here is chapter four. I'll try to keep a weekly interval with my chapters, at best. However, college work might delay some chapters on a frequent basis.

****

**Chapter Four**

"..._yawn..._"

It had been about two hours since Lily, the maiden vulpix, and Charon, the raichu, had taken position just outside the entrance of the cave. The forest before them, thick with trees, possessed a rather creepy atmosphere. The unpredictable din of the nocturnal creatures was a constant presence in the ears of the self-appointed guards. The trees, tall and numerous, blocked much of the moonlight, creating darkness no different than the fog of a cold, fall day: only able to see so far, before one's vision stops at a wall of nothingness.

"..._yawn..._"

_There she goes again,_ thought Charon, eyeing the vulpix next to him apprehensively. Not so long ago, it became clear to the raichu that the Lily didn't volunteer for the night watch very often. Although she sat in one place and kept her eye on her surroundings, much in the same manner as a watchdog, the fox's head would bobble downwards, snap back up, and repeat, while the lids of her eyes became heavier and heavier. A long, contagious yawn interrupted the routine on occasion, adding weight to Charon's own eyes as well. The raichu figured that Calien would blow a capillary if he saw Charon and Lily asleep whilst side-by-side in the morning, so _something_ had to be done to prevent such a predicament.

"Lily?" Charon spoke.

"_Yawn..._what?" The maiden vulpix said sleepily, doing her best to keep her focus on the darkness before them.

"You're falling asleep." Charon stated.

"No I'm not. I'm..._yawn_...just fine," Lily barely responded, her head bobbing down.

"You are _not_ fine. You're _falling asleep._ And your yawning is making me drowsy too," Charon stated. "Why don't you go back to the cave? If we both fall asleep here, Calien's sure to assume the worst and roast my hide."

Lily, snapping her head back up again, turned it to look at Charon. "Don't be such a worrywart!" she said almost drunkenly, smiling, "He's just stressed about tomorrow, you know? We're both..._yawn_...looking forward to it...even though we've never done it before!"

_Wow...she's pretty damn honest with someone she never met before,_ Charon thought. He sighed.

"I guess I'd be the same way, in his position," Charon figured aloud. _Even though I've never had a mate at all._

Lily yawned yet again. The bobbing and snapping of her head was getting ridiculous now. At any moment, the maiden vulpix would collapse into sleep like a sack of potatoes. Charon did not want to deal with the possibility of having to carry Lily back into the cave. If Calien was still awake and watching Charon's every move, the male would no doubt lunge for the raichu's jugular if he saw the electric rodent holding Lily in ANY fashion. The only option was to keep the maiden vulpix occupied with small talk.

"I take it you two planned on using this cave for tomorrow?" Charon inquired.

"Not sure, really," Lily mumbled, "After the scare you gave us, Calien wouldn't want to do it here. He'd be afraid that incident could happen again."

"Incident?"

"Yeah...a broken arcanine - you know..._yawn..._those huge, fire-breathing dogs? He barged in one of our shelters a while ago and tried to beat me senseless so he could have his way with me. Guess he thought that I was an easy target...Calien and I sure proved him wrong!" Lily explained, adding some laughter at the end as she snapped her head back again.

"You fought off an _arcanine?_" The raichu exclaimed, "How the hell did you pull that off?"

"The dog was just a mindless thug. Heh-heh!" Lily continued, "It didn't want to have to deal with a fight, so he just turned tail and ran as soon as we torched his ugly mug. But since then my mate's been really protective. He'd climb mountains for my sake."

"Calien sounds like a good match for you," Charon remarked.

"Yep," Lily agreed, "I wouldn't ask for anyone..._yaaaaaaaawn..._."** plop.**

And thus, Charon's worst fear came to fruition. _Dammit._

The raichu looked over the female vulpix wearily. Having bobbed downwards one last time, Lily had collapsed forward, lying on her left side in a deep slumber, her back facing towards Charon. A slow breath minutely raised and lowered her chest. Her red fur shone beautifully in the moonlight, in testament to the female's youthful health. Forgetting for a moment the problem he had to address right away, Charon realized it had been a long while since the last time he was able to look upon –and appreciate- a mature, feminine beauty. He sat down a short distance from the vulpix and watched the sleeping form of Lily for a short while more. Soon, Charon realized that Lily was a masterpiece of nature...the kind of perfection in body and form that caretakers dream, but often fails to achieve with their pets. To not enjoy such art, even by only sight, was a crime in the raichu's mind.

When he had enough, he rose up upon his hind legs once more. Peering down into the cave, Charon saw the outline of Lily's mate, sleeping peacefully on the ground. _Calien...you lucky bastard, _the raichu thought.

Turning back to Lily, Charon approached her sleeping body. Slowly bending forward, he carefully slid his paws, palms facing up, underneath her body. Lifting Lily up, he grew tense as he was treated to the comfort of her fur, warm and soft like silk, and its feminine scent that wafted into his nose. Once Lily was fully in the grip of his forepaws, the raichu was nearly petrified. He held Lily as far away from his body as humanly possible, as though she carried a deadly infection.

_I'm not one of the broken! I can do this,_ Charon assured himself, _all I have to do is carry Lily back to Calien, and lay her down to rest. This will mean nothing to me. Nothing! I won't do anything stupid! _

Charon turned to the cave. Step by step, he sluggishly walked towards Calien. His heart began to thump rapidly. His nerves stiffened as he tried to look away from the vulpix, holding his breath in an attempt not to inhale her scent. After what felt to be an eternity, he finally stood before the sleeping form of Calien. Slowly, he lowered Lily down to the ground, next to her mate. He choked as, while bending down, his face was mere inches from the maiden vulpix's flesh. Finally, once Lily was finally out of his grasp, he immediately dashed away, out of the cave, back to the entrance. He collapsed down to the ground, burying his rodent face in it, overwhelmed by dismay.

_Idiot. _


	5. Flying Snakes and Falling Rodents

**Chapter 5**

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect. He is in a deep sleep, out in the open, in broad daylight."

A lone ekans, a purple-colored snake with yellow, reptilian eyes, quietly observed a raichu that was asleep, face down, just outside the mouth of a cave. The snake had followed the raichu when it traveled to that cave. Knowing that the dangerous prey would've kept watch all night, the ekans took shelter underneath a thick bush and slept early so he would be fully awake at the crack of dawn while the raichu, sacrificing sleep, would've conked out a long time ago. Now that dawn had arrived, the purple snake nearly shook with enthusiasm.

"You've humiliated me for the last time, Charon," the snake whispered vehemently, "Now, the inhabitants of the forest will see you die by my venomous fangs. They will learn to fear the name of Synope."

Synope uncoiled his long body from the bush. He slithered as quietly as he could across the earth, curving left to right like his Sidewinder cousins, eyeing the slumbering raichu intently.

_I cannot remember the last time I had encountered such a frustrating prey, _the ekans thought, _this overgrown rat had caught me EVERY TIME I approached him, and instead of defeating me honorably he ties my body in a knot, swings me over his head, and throws me into the canopy! I am no more than a laughingstock now because of him! Not even the rattatas take me seriously, even when their death by my fangs is certain! _

As Synope closed the distance, he gradually opened his jaw. His fangs, gleaming from venom, were long and menacing, eager to sink into Charon's flesh.

_Now, the only way I'll have my honor restored is if I slay you, Charon; then I will be the one who laughs last._

Inches away from the raichu, Synope's jaw was opened to nearly its maximum. His head rose up, supported by his own body, as he eyed the optimum place to bite. Synope, his victory certain, lunged for the kill...

...only to be grabbed by the head, in mid-strike, by Charon's paw.

"I've never been much of a deep sleeper," Charon grumbled groggily. Pushing up on his other forepaw, he lifted up his face, looking at the snake dangling in his grasp. The raichu bore a drowsy expression. "Oh, hello Synope."

The snake, helpless, writhed around in the air, desperate to escape. "Damn you, Charon! Damn you and all your rodent kind! I won't let you humiliate me again!" Synope cursed him, somewhat choking.

"Uuuurgh." Charon slowly rose up to his hindlegs, his grasp on Synope kept firm. "Don't you think you're aiming a bit too high? There's no way I'd fit in that tiny, skinny body of yours."

"This isn't about eating! This is about the honor in strength that you make a mockery out of!"

Charon grumbled. "Oh, right. I keep forgetting that you were a cockfighter once."

That statement pissed the snake off even more. "Shut up! A brute like you could never understand the glory one gains from besting a superior rival!"

"You're insane. Then again, why the hell do I let you live? Oh well. I'm too tired for the knot, so I'll just throw you. Till next time, Synope."

With a quick flip of the paw, Charon's grasp slid from Synope's head to his tail. Seconds later, the snake was being whipped around in the air above Charon's head, being prepped for takeoff. The raichu's expression remained drowsy and indifferent.

"NOT AGAAAAAIN! AAAAAAAAAAH!" Synope cried, as Charon lashed the snake downward, and then let go of the tail as the snake was swung upward, rocketing the unlucky serpent straight into the canopy of the forest at a precise forty-five degree trajectory. Seconds later, his body wrapped around a dangerously high branch of a tree. Snickering from the nearby inhabitants soon followed...but it was too far away for Charon to watch or see, not that he cared.

"Uuurgh...I'm so tired," Charon moaned. He looked up to the sky, the light of the rising sun bearing down upon him. "It's morning already? That was fast. Last night seemed so long..."

"What was that about?"

"Gaaah!" The raichu cried, jumping away in shock as Lily's voice, as well as Lily herself, popped out seemingly out of nowhere right next to him. Adrenaline burning away the fatigue, he snapped around, glaring at Lily as he held his throbbing chest.

"Dammit, don't sneak up on me like that!" Charon cried angrily.

"Oops! Sorry about that," The maiden vulpix said, slightly giggling at the raichu's reaction. Charon, taken off-guard by her cutesy response, could only fluster and squelch his impulse to berate her some more.

"You're up early," Charon noted, after some hesitation.

"Yeah, I am, thanks to that howling snake you tossed."

"Ah...Um, is Calien awake too?"

"No, he's still resting. He's a bit too tired to hear anything."

"...Oh." _Well, at least Calien won't think I did anything to Lily._

"Sorry about last night....guess I'm a horrible night-watch," Lily said apologetically, "Oh well, at least I got to cuddle Calien for a bit when I woke up. That's always pleasurable. He's very cute when he's asleep."

Charon grew nervous as the maiden vulpix talked, brushing off his dirt-stained face. If Lily was the inquisitive, remembering type, she might ask Charon how she managed to wake up next to Calien when she had actually dozed off at the mouth of the cave, next to the raichu. There's no telling how she'd react if she realized that the raichu actually touched her red fur. _She might decide to roast me, _Charon thought worriedly, _better get going before she figures it out._

"Well, I should be going now," Charon told Lily, the last speck of dirt brushed away.

"So soon?" Lily asked.

"Yeah...you see, this is my first time, as well. Problem is, female 'chus are hard to come by in these parts. The only reason I know they're even around is because I saw a litter of my kind only yesterday, but she ran away before I could ask anything."

"Oh...you mean like that tiny rodent in the tree up there?" Lily asked, looking upward.

"What!?" Charon immediately spun around. Not to far in the distance, the same pichu from yesterday was curiously watching from high above, perched upon the branch. Upon seeing Charon turn around, she gasped loudly. "It's YOU!" Charon exclaimed, pointing to her.

"AAAAAAAAAAH! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" The pichu yelped, at once attempting to sprint away. Alas, deja-vu struck her. Once again, she lost her footing on the delicate branch. Once again, she slipped and fell. But no one was around to catch her this time. She fell down, down, down screaming towards the ground, to the horror of the raichu and the maiden vulpix, until she landed head first with a sickening thud.

"Oh, no!" Lily exclaimed.

"_SHIT!"_ Charon cried, as he and the maiden vulpix rushed to the female pichu, praying they did not witness an untimely death.


	6. Tempting Company

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **And here is chapter six. I enabled anonymous reviews to be allowed so that readers without an account can leave behind some critique. It was disabled for some time due to persistent flames on one of my works, but I've since realized that disabling anonymous reviews to filter out flamers is rather pointless. If they want to blow hot air in order to gain attention, let them. They are the ones who make asses of themselves. :D

**Chapter 6**

Calien, Lily, and Charon, now all fully awake, looked down upon the limp form of the female pichu. Just minutes ago it had plummeted high from a tree, landing hard upon the top of her head. Her scream had awoken Lily's mate, who immediately rushed out of the cave in panic, thinking the scream belonged to the maiden vulpix. Calien quickly realized his mistake, fortunately, and was able to restrain himself from roasting Charon alive. But now they were faced with a new problem.

"She's not...dead, is she?" Lily asked, almost tearing up.

Charon stepped forward to the limp pichu. Lowering down to all fours, the raichu placed his ear upon the litter's tiny chest, listening for signs of life.

"Her heart is still beating and she's seems to breathe ok," Charon answered, getting back up to stand on his hindlegs, "I think the pichu's just unconscious. Dammit, this never would've happened if not for yesterday! I'm such an idiot!"

"What do you mean, Charon? What happened yesterday?" Calien asked.

Charon, turning to face the foxes, let out a pitiful sigh. "I was lounging around on a tree branch yesterday, eating an apple, when I had heard someone trying to sneak up on me. I assumed it was Synope, that snake that's always trying to kill me, and I thought I'd scare the daylights out of him by pinning him to the bark and baring my teeth. And wouldn't you know, it was really that goddamn Pichu laying before us!" He jabbed a paw towards the unconscious litter. "She only slipped and fell because she was trying to get away from me, the terrible raichu." Those last words dripped with sardonic tone.

"I see," Calien said, "It certainly wasn't the best way to make an impression upon her."

"What else was I supposed to expect?" Charon replied, "I didn't know there were other chus until she showed up, and Synope's the only one that ever wants to get close to me; and that's not because he wants to be my friend."

Lily looked down to the ground, her olive eyes becoming moist. "That's not even the worst part," she said, "Hasn't anyone noticed that her mother is nowhere to be found? She should've come running for her offspring by now!"

The two males turned to look at her, the fact suddenly hitting them like bricks. "Oh dear," Calien said, "This is worse than I thought. This pichu might be an orphan."

"Or abandoned!" Lily exclaimed.

"Or an unwanted bastard of the broken," Charon added grimly, "But only the kid knows for sure."

An uneasy silence passed over the three. They looked again at the unconscious pichu. Despite being comatose, it somehow still bore an expression of despair, touching an empathetic chord in them.

_We could just be assuming the worst...she mentioned her mother the first time around, _Charon thought, _or was that just a fake memory to protect herself?_

Charon sighed. "Listen, Lily, Calien...I don't want to drag you into this. It'd be stupid to ignore helpless offspring of my own race, especially when I intend to have offspring myself. It goes against why we even bother to survive in these woods. I'll take the pichu with me and help her find a new mother. You two can worry about having your own offspring."

"Well, er...I suppose you're right," Calien said, "Lily, we ought to prepare to conceive our litters soon, yes?"

Lily did not respond. At the moment, it looked like the maiden vulpix was about to release a waterfall of tears.

"Lily? Lily, what's wrong?" Calien asked, not having a clue as to why Lily suddenly became so emotional.

"You...you...HOW CAN YOU BE SO INSENSITIVE!?" Lily suddenly burst out, the dam holding back her tears crumbling before the emotional onslaught. Calien and Charon recoiled in unison, gripped by a mix of confusion and utter fear.

"What did I do, Lily?! What did I do?" Calien blurted in panic, his six tails tucked between his legs.

"It's just so terrible! This poor pichu was just like me! I NEVER HAD A MOTHER!" Lily sobbed.

"But Lily, I didn't have a mother either! We were both born in captivity, remember?" Calien pointed out.

"THAT'S WHY YOU'RE BEING INSENSITIVE, YOU STUPID JERK!" Lily shrieked, letting out a burst of flame from her red muzzle that drove poor Calien behind the cover of a tree. Charon, knowing better than to interfere with the fights of young couples, watched the spectacle unfold with bewilderment, being sure to keep himself and the unconscious pichu at a safe distance.

"I'm sorry Calien," Lily proclaimed, "But I can't just start a family knowing that pichu might never have a family at all! I'd feel so sad I could never get in the mood, you know?"

The maiden vulpix immediately turned to Charon, whose heart skipped a beat when her razor-sharp stare threatened to slice through his head. At once she charged right up to the raichu, stopping just inches before him, and looked up to him with a face of iron determination.

"Charon, Calien and I are going with you!" Lily proclaimed.

Charon's jaw dropped. "I...I..." he stammered, but he could barely stand on his hindlegs, nevermind speak.

"What?!" Calien cried, rushing to Lily, "Lily, don't do this to me! You promised today, Lily! You promised!"

"Calien, relax! I'm not gonna break my promise...but I can't do it until this pichu is saved! You understand, don't you, Calien?" Lily reasoned.

Now it was the male vulpix's turn to shed some tears. "But...I just wanted to mate today...cruel fate, why do you deny me?!"

"Don't be so dramatic! I want it just as much as you, but it has to wait, ok?" Lily said. She turned to Charon. "So where are you going to go, Charon?" She asked.

"Well...I...was going to go...to...the lake..." Charon managed to utter, even though his eyes seemed to stare into the depths of nothingness.

"Great! Let's go then!" Lily stated. "We're off to save the pichu!"

"...Right..." Charon barely replied.

* * *

The spring, midday sun shone overhead in the forest. Activity was bustling as usual. A bird flew here and there, and a fellow woodland creature would dash from tree to tree. But animals that were normally out in the open were taking cover wherever they could, for dangerous creatures (at least, what they perceived to be dangerous creatures) were traveling in their midst, their pace slow but steady.

Charon took point in this small group of rare, powerful creatures. He walked upon his hindlegs like a human biped, his long, weapon-like tail curled upward like the venomous sting of a scorpion. Though he knew it was inevitable, he disliked having to disturb the other inhabitants with his imposing presence. Normally he'd be dashing to his destination on all fours, as common rodents do, but his right paw had to carry a comatose pichu upon his shoulder, since in the unconscious state the litter wouldn't have stayed upon his back. It was a wonder that the fall the pichu endured hadn't killed it outright.

Trailing close behind Charon was the vulpix couple, Calien and Lily. The fire-breathing foxes, walking on all fours with their elegant tails fanned out, also struck an imposing presence upon the inhabitants; but both of them were preoccupied with other thoughts. Lily, on the right, constantly kept her eye upon the pichu. Having been conquered by empathy, the female desired the rescue of this lost offspring more than she desired the conception of her own litters. Walking very, very close to Lily's left was her mate-to-be, Calien, switching between staring at Lily's body lustfully and staring down to the ground in self-pity and frustration. A twist in fate had denied him Lily's womb just a little longer than he had expected. Since this mating would be new territory for both of the foxes, he wanted the promised day to be very memorable, as well as a concrete reason for Lily to stay by his side...but already his intended plans had been screwed over by the pichu Charon carried, stealing Lily's emotion. Now everything would have to be done in an impromptu fashion. He wasn't sure he'd be able to find the privacy Lily would want, with the raichu in their midst, and what if Lily got too tired before they could conceive? Or even worse, what if all the stress from today cruelly makes Calien mess up and ruin the experience forever? Such a tragedy for Calien would be nearly too much to bear.

Although no one would know it from looking at Charon's face, the raichu himself also had some gnawing thoughts. If he had possessed knowledge in ancient human curses, he'd speculate that he was struck by the curse of the Chinese: "May you live in interesting times." He never expected the rekindled search for a mate to be an easy one, but already it was becoming too much. His only lead to the whereabouts of the other chus laid in the memories of this pichu who was terrified of him. He had no idea how he was going to earn the litter's trust. But that wasn't even the biggest problem. The biggest problem was right behind him, walking on all fours, possessing a feminine beauty that threatens to ensnare him.

_Lily...Lily, why are you here with me? Why aren't you letting me go, to live happily with your mate? Don't you realize that you are tempting me? I'm not a creature of the wild...never have, never will, no matter how much I pretend. I have feelings that have been with me since my exile...feelings that wild creatures never have...Feelings that have been dormant, until now._

_Do you know these feelings, Lily? They are the feelings of the broken. You have awoken them. And until you are no longer part of my life, I'll live in mortal fear. I came close to committing the atrocity before...Can I resist the second time?_


	7. A Matter of Trust

**Author's Note: **Well, I certainly never expected such kind words. Thanks to all who have reviewed thus far. I hope I'll be able to keep a high standard. If it drops, please be honest and let me know. :D

**Chapter 7**

Charon, Lily, and Calien, after a good deal of traversing the woods, finally made it to the lake, where Charon had swimmed and bathed the day before. It was a sizable lake, stretching quite far from one side to another, and the water was clean and refreshing, if a tad chilly. Upon reaching the shores of that lake, Charon laid the pichu down to his side and sat down for a much needed rest. Calien and Lily, in the meantime, were captivated and awed by the lake, never having seen such a large and beautiful body of water before. They stood upon the lake's edge, side-by-side, peering into the water.

"It is certainly quite a sight," Calien remarked, "It is tempting to go for a swim, though I know that doing so would make us vulnerable for quite some time."

"Yeah, it's too bad," Lily added sadly.

Charon looked over to them. "Is being drenched by water really that harmful to a vulpix?" he asked.

"Not so much harmful as it is incapacitating," Calien explained, his view fixated on the lake, "When fire-breathers like Lily and I get drenched in water, we could lose our ability to make fire. We don't get it back until we've dried off, and even if we don't lose our fire we'd still feel very weak."

"How the hell do you wash, then?" Charon asked.

"We take turns," Calien said, "So that there's always someone to protect the other."

"Ah."

Lily had turned away from the lake, now walking up to Charon and the unconscious pichu. "So, why'd you bring the Pichu here?"

"I figured that she would wake up if she felt the chill of the water here." Charon said bluntly, "And if that doesn't work, at least we can get some water to drink."

Calien dipped a paw into the water, but immediately pulled it out. "This water is nearly freezing," he said, "This could be a bit too much for the offspring, Charon."

"You're not going to just throw her in there, are you?!" Lily exclaimed, intensely worried for the welfare of the pichu.

"Why on earth would I do that?" Charon replied, "I'm trying to wake up the pichu, not kill her. All I'm going to do is quickly dip her in the lake a few times. If that doesn't wake the pichu, then I'll just let her wake up on its own. She can't stay comatose forever."

"Just be careful, ok?" Lily asked, "I'd never forgive you if that poor creature drowns."

Charon sighed. "Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Charon rose up to his hindlegs. Bending down, he picked up the pichu with both of his forepaws, his grasp just below the pichu's own stubby forepaws. Calien and Lily watched as he walked forward to wade into the lake. The cold water chilled the raichu's flesh, forming goose bumps underneath his fur. He cringed as he progressed further into the lake, until the water submerged him to his chest, forcing him to hold the pichu high above his head. As he began to shiver, his mind wandered to the thought of how the arrival of the pichu was both a blessing and a curse...a possible guide to his own kind, yet a lure for the maiden vulpix. He could only hope that Calien would get the chance soon to fulfill Lily's desire for offspring: Charon would not be so tempted if her womb was already carrying a child, for it went against his instinct to mate with someone already pregnant. _Perhaps I could give them a little push, _Charon thought.

"Let's see if this makes a good wake-up call," He thought aloud, trying now to focus on the task at hand. Stopping not too far from the shore, he turned around to face Calien and Lily. "I'll just dip her as far as her neck, alright?" Charon spoke to them.

"Alright." Lily confirmed.

"I don't know how long this might take," Charon called out, "It could be awhile before she wakes, if she wakes at all, so you two should go take care of whatever you have to do if you want."

Calien suddenly perked up, opportunity beckoning him to heed its call. "Why yes, that would be a stupendous idea! We have some business to take care of, don't we Lily?" The male vulpix asked Lily, coming up close to her and beaming with hope.

"No, Calien, not now! I want to see if the pichu wakes up," Lily answered, watching Charon and the offspring intently, not even bothering to look at Calien.

Calien's hope quickly shattered, crashing down almost as quickly as it flew up. "I guess I'll just... take a rest over here, then." He said, doing his best not to cry. He walked a few feet away from the vulpix and curled up, laying upon the ground, staring sadly at the feminine beauty that was so close, yet so far.

_Damn. So much for that idea, _Charon thought, letting out a sigh.

Charon prepared himself. At the moment, the pichu was still held inches above the chilly water. Soon, her body would be exposed to the touch of liquid cold. If the rodent offspring indeed wakes on the first try, the shock coursing through its body would no doubt instill panic and fear, a feeling which would increase a hundredfold upon peering into the face of the raichu. The resulting spasm of electricity, as well as whatever else the offspring may employ to escape Charon, was inevitable.

_This is going to hurt, _Charon thought, _I know it will. I can't let my anger get to me. I won't have this life upon my shoulders._ _I will do this right, and she will see I'm not a threat...I hope._

Charon lowered the pichu into the water. Her feet were the first to touch. Her waist came next. Her forepaws became submerged as well. Charon did not stop until her mouth was barely above the surface of the water. Lily, gripped by the suspense, found herself wanting to wade right into the lake to be next to the pichu, but her common sense kept her back. Even Calien started to watch intently, the tension gnawing at Lily infecting him as well. And then...

Charon felt a twitch.

"Lily, Calien, I think it's working. She's starting to move a little," Calien said, suddenly growing tense. At once he pulled the pichu out of the water, as to avoid giving the offspring the impression that he was going to drown her.

"Well, bring her back to land already!" Lily exclaimed.

"No, not yet," Charon interjected, "If she panics and runs away, I might never see this damn kid again! I have to show her that I'm not going to hurt her."

"You should let us help, Charon," Calien said sternly, "There's no way that the pichu is going to trust you right away."

"Like hell I don't know that!" Charon snapped, "Why do you think I went so far into the lake? She can't run away like before because if she tries to break free of my grasp, she would drown! She has no choice but to trust me, and I think she'd rather live. It'll just take her awhile to realize that."

"Are you insane!? You're going to get her killed!" Lily said.

"I know what I am doing!" Charon nearly shouted, but before the entire sentence could come out of his mouth, the eyes of the pichu suddenly snapped open. At that moment in time, the eyes of Charon and the pichu interlocked in a petrifying gaze.

"Charon? Charon, what's wrong?" Lily called out, "Charon, answer me!"

Charon could give no answer for Lily's voice seemed but a faint whisper. The stare of the pichu, momentary as it was, seemed to penetrate his mind. Everything else nearly phased out of existence. It was just him and the pichu, shivering in the chilling water, gripped by the mortal fear that threatened to kill them both. The pichu, in the strong grasp of the raichu, feared for her life. The raichu, the delicate offspring in his paws, feared his anger. Their moment was a split-second of hesitation, before the storm of pain hit them both.

The pichu shrieked, unleashing the storm.

The offspring shot off chaotic sparks of electricity, electrocuting Charon's grip. She writhed in the grasp of the raichu, screaming at the top of her lungs, clawing and kicking and biting the paws that suspended her above the water. The raichu merely held still, enduring the punctures and lacerations of his flesh and the electricity, weak as they were, coursing through his body. He resisted the urge to tighten his grip, instead gnashing his teeth together. Blood began to drip from his paws, tracing a path down his limbs and body and into the lake. Charon clenched his jaw even tighter, and squeezed his eyes shut as well.

"Pichu! PICHU! Stop what you are doing! Charon's not going to hurt you!" Lily cried out, horrified at the violence unfolding before her. But her plea fell on deaf ears.

Calien was no less horrified. "Charon, this is madness! Come to the shore quickly! We can subdue the offspring if you let us! She's going to rip the flesh off your paws to the bone if you stay like that!"

"No...no....NO!" Charon cried out. Overwhelmed by pain and dismay, he no longer could restrain himself. The raichu glared at the pichu with eyes of fury, terrifying the offspring with a wail of desperation:

"I WILL _NOT LET GO_ UNTIL YOU...TRUST..._ME!_"


	8. A Model Female

**Chapter 8**

Lily and Calien did not know what to make of it all.

Charon had waded back to shore, his paws bloodied and marred. His plan had backfired. The pichu, her face a ghostly white, was now so terrified of him that she even feared the idea of running away, lest she were to invoke the raichu's wrath. All she could do was hang limp in Charon's grasp, paralyzed by terror, glaring into his olive eyes.

The raichu lowered the pichu down to the ground, near the shore of the lake, and released her from his grip. "Sit here for now," he spoke softly, his tone tainted by the pain festering in his paws. The Pichu said nothing in reply. She looked down to the ground, her chest tightening, the knot in her throat preventing any utterance. Lily, her pity for the pichu grown astronomically, attempted to approach the offspring, her mind tumbling over itself as it contemplated how on earth the maiden vulpix could soothe the pichu's suffering. Calien, meanwhile, became quite upset with Charon, and berated him as he staggered off to a tree, out of view of Lily and the pichu, and sat against its bark. The raichu seemed detached from the material world as he licked clean his tender wounds.

"Charon! What on earth just happened there?" The male fox spoke, "Are you insane!? You stand there and let that offspring tear the flesh on your paws like some masochist, then you scare the living daylights out of her with a primal scream!? I do not have offspring of my own...yet...but I do know that is no way to earn trust, no matter how old the creature is!"

Charon said nothing, continuing to lick his own wounds.

"You are not even listening to me, are you?" Calien remarked, "Are you really that close-minded? Do you not realize that you are fueling the very stereotype that makes raichus like yourself eternal loners? You did not have to act as though you were on your own! Lily and I could have helped! You did not have to resort to intimidation!"

Charon finished up tending to his wounds. "My blood...is very bitter," He muttered. He lifted his head and turned to look at Calien. The male fox was nearly struck speechless: Tears were rolling down the cheeks of Charon's face.

"I have an idea," Charon whispered slowly, trying but failing to fully suppress his wavering tone, "How about you assume that I already feel bad about it so that you don't have to rub it in anymore? I had no intention to scare the goddamn pichu...things just went horribly wrong...ok? I'd say sorry if I could...but I don't think she will...forgive me."

The male fox sighed, feeling somewhat guilty himself. "What are you going to do now?" He asked, taking a seat next to the raichu.

"I don't know," Charon admitted, "I just don't know. I don't think I can go back to square one."

"I suppose not," Calien lamented.

Charon held up his wounded paws. They still festered with a bit of pain. "I've screwed things up for myself AND for that pichu. She's not going to trust anyone now. She'll never let me find her mother so I'll never be able to find a female."

"Are you going to migrate, then?" Calien asked.

"Maybe...but I have no idea where to go. I've only lived in the wild for a few months...and like hell I'd go back to where I used to be."

"You were once in captivity?" Calien inquired curiously.

"Huh, I'd thought you'd assume that already," Charon remarked.

"Give me some credit! I am knowledgeable enough to know that not all raichus in the wild had lived as former captives, as rare as it is." The male fox said.

"That'd be a safe assumption, anyway."

"I guess."

More silence. Charon rested his paws upon his body. Calien sighed again.

"At this rate Lily and I will never get to copulate," the male fox spoke sadly.

"Ugh...I'm really sorry about that," Charon said.

"It is not your fault," Calien explained. "It is her nature to care about offspring so much. In captivity she used to wet-nurse the offspring put in her box and cared for them as though they were her own. She was never allowed to have a mate, however...she was a model female, assumed to be a mother, for the humans to admire through glass-a visual perfection of the vulpine species. I suppose for her to lose her virginity would have tainted her image in their eyes."

Charon began to grow uneasy, thoughts of the incident in the cave plucking at strands of guilt. He distracted himself by inquiring more about the fox's history. "How did you get to know her?"

"I was born and raised as a pet for an aristocratic family. I met Lily for the first time when my former owner had taken me for a walk one morning in the summer. Seeing her beauty had set my heart racing, and my owner saw how I had fallen head-over-heels for her- if the season was spring I would've lost all control and begged to be her mate right through the glass." Calien blushed, still feeling embarrassed about it, but continued. "The two of us went into the store and, much to my joy, my owner bought Lily for thrice her worth. At once we went home, Lily being carried in her box, and at the moment she was let out of her box to make herself home in the estate, I set out to woo her and court her to be my mate.

"Lily, at first, was very shy, perhaps even frightened of me, while I was a nervous wreck, my every action scrutinized and berated by me. Neither of us had spoken to the opposite sex before. Eventually, however, we gained each other's trust, and we were set to bring forth our offspring in the mating season by the time winter came around. But then, Lily and I came to the realization that our litters would be taken away from us to be pets for other humans. The thought of bearing offspring only to lose them horrified Lily, so we made the hard decision to escape from the estate and stake out a living in the wild. We could not have chosen a worse time to leave our sheltered lives, however.

"Winter was very hard for us. The nights were cold, the food scarce (and hard-to-earn), and the fellow inhabitants very dangerous. For the longest time we had scraped a living without knowing of the fire we could expel from our muzzles. More than once we came close to an untimely end. Were it not for the few creatures that actually lent aid and conventional wisdom, we would have died tragically. But, as you can see, Lily and I managed to survive.

"Lily...I think the experience in the wild has made her stronger. It has made me stronger, as well. We have survived against the odds, and have become so dedicated to each other that I would not trade Lily for anything. But in a sense, she is still frail. I believe she is still nervous about the act of mating itself, especially ever since that time a broken arcanine attempted to force himself on her. Such a majestic, towering creature, reduced to such a perverse monstrosity...were it not for the thug, I am sure we would be mating regularly by now. But now, with that pichu in such a state of distress...I do not know...maybe I should be more stern-"

"No, Calien," Charon suddenly interrupted, his tone solemn, "Don't try to push her to do anything. You're not in a goddamn rush to get this over with."

"It is not that!" Calien exclaimed, "If we do not mate before spring is over, our litters would be born in the cold of winter! They'd have no chance to survive, and losing them all would break Lily's heart. And if we do not mate at all, then there is a problem I do not know of. I seriously believe Lily is still nervous about the act...I should persuade her, but I would not go so far as to coerce her, Charon. That would be wrong of me."

Charon grinned. "You're quite the gentleman, so to speak," the raichu commented.

"Is that a compliment?"

Charon sighed. "Yes, Calien."

"Thank you." The male vulpix said happily.

More silence.

"Lily and the kid have been really damn quiet," Charon realized, getting up upon his hindlegs.

"Knowing her, I would say she is trying to console the offspring," Calien speculated, rising up upon his four legs as well.

"Yeah, but so quietly? No, she's got to be doing something else. We'd at least hear them talking."

"I do not think the pichu would ever be in the mood to talk," Calien pointed out, "But we should check up on the two, anyway."

"Right."

Calien and Charon slowly walked back to the shore of the wake. They creeped up to where Lily and the Pichu was left behind. Then they saw them.

"Why am I not surprised?" Calien said, sighing. Charon could do nothing but stare in disbelief. Before him was something that he had never anticipated.

Lily was laying on her side, her eyes closed, her face expressing a unique calm. The pichu had cuddled up close to her, soothed by the comfort of her warm touch. The pichu felt so secure with lily that she already was suckling the maiden fox, enjoying the milk that the offspring had been denied for a long time. Lily had embraced her motherly instinct and treated the child as her own. She had gained the pichu's trust.

There was no denying it now. It was exactly as Charon feared. Lily and Calien would not be leaving him for a long time. He now had to depend on the very female he hoped to avoid if he was ever going to find the other chus before the passing of spring.

The temptation of the broken in Charon was going to live on.


	9. Ivy and Sarah

AUTHOR'S NOTE: It has been quite some time since I last updated. My apologies to all. I attempted to write up something, but it seems to lack something. Regardless, I am posting it in an attempt to progress the story. Expect the next chapter to be much better.

**Chapter Nine**

Noon had passed. The sun over the landscape, fading in its brightness, had taken refuge in the white clouds peppering the sky, pitching the sylvan landscape into the shade of giant shadows.

Charon, Lily, Calien, and the pichu had since departed from the lake. The offspring, though calmed, had not yet opened up to the foxes and the rodent. Charon, knowing that approaching it personally would only silence the pichu with fear, had kept his distance when the vulpix couple inquired her about the whereabouts of her family. When they got nowhere with their questioning, they decided to traverse the landscape, asking the inhabitants on the whereabouts of any Chus. Thus, the two vulpixes and the silent pichu went from animal to animal (and the occasional non-rooted plant) investigating everything they could about the electric rodents that seemed to hide their presence extremely well. The raichu, who had lost trust in himself, merely trailed along, his tongue as silent as the offspring's.

Conversations with the animals generally went along like this…

"Hey there! Excuse me! We need to talk to you!" Lily would state to an animal.

After some hesitation, the animal would eventually approach them, typically asking what they wanted with a slight irritation in its tone.

"We were wondering…have you, by any chance, seen any 'chus passing through here?" Calien would ask, "This pichu here has been separated from her mother and we have been trying unsuccessfully to reunite them." The pichu would be close to Lily's side, holding on to one of her forelegs, looking at the animal with puppy eyes that would reduce Satan to jelly.

The animal would typically answer that the only other 'chu they've seen was Charon, who they would point at with an air of contempt until the raichu's resulting glare quieted the animal fairly quickly. With a sigh of defeat, the vulpix couple and the saddened pichu would move on, while Charon would grow increasingly frustrated with the fruitlessness of their search.

_I can't believe this! _Charon thought, when the tenth animal they approached revealed nothing of any help, _Is my own kind really that rare? Hell, that pichu might not even be from around here…but we won't know for sure until the damn kid decides to say something! Dammit…I just HAD to scare the living daylights out of her, didn't I?_

Charon let slip a small chuckle. _Maybe this is a sign that I wasn't meant to have any offspring…so far I've done just about everything wrong…_

Calien, Lily, and the pichu had stopped, looking at Charon worriedly. "Charon? Are you alright?" Lily had asked, "What's so funny all of a sudden?" The pichu by her side looked at the raichu nervously, most likely thinking that the large rodent was, by some degree, insane.

Charon sighed. _Another stupid move. _"It's nothing, really," The raichu said to them, though not very convincingly, "I was just remembering something. Don't mind me."

The four of them continued on, Charon cursing himself for the rest of the trip.

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_Today I am so happy! Remember how I've told you soooooo many times how much I wanted a pet? I would always beg my daddy everyday to get one, but he said "no" to me so many times I thought I would lose all hope. But guess what? Today he said yes! YAY!_

_Daddy had went to the store and bought a cute, little, baby pokemon for me. He's so adorable! He's only a few days old, but he's already the sweetest thing! Everytime I hold him in my arms I just turn to jelly._

_Mommy's kinda scared of the little guy, though. She doesn't like rodents that much. Just a while ago he tried to jump on her lap. It was so funny! Mommy jumped and screamed "Get that oversized yellow rat away from me!" Then she ran out of the house! The little guy felt rejected, which wasn't so funny. So I went to cheer him up, and he was all happy again. Awwww._

_Now, the only thing left is to name the little cutie. It's gonna be a close call. My stupid, annoying brother wants to call him Karon or something like that. He's says it'd be "cool" because it's the name of the "ferryman of the underworld!" Cool? More like totally geeky! A cute pet NEEDS a cute name! That's why I want to name him Sparky! But my brother thinks that's stupid, the little jerk!_

_Daddy is making us flip a coin tonight on the little guy's name. I'll probably call "tails", because of that adorable black tail he has! Or should I call heads? I don't know which is cuter! Oh well, wish me luck, diary!_

_-Sincerely, _

_Sarah_

_

* * *

_

"Gah! I cannot walk for another step!"

Calien, his feet sore and his legs numb, had collapsed to the ground, lying on his side as a look of exhaustion was plastered to his face. The four of them had continued their search for the offspring's mother for so long that the sun was now beginning to sink into the horizon. The whole lot of them was tired as hell (save for the pichu, who hitched a ride on Lily's back) and was in dire need of some rest. Upon Calien's collapse, the rest of them had halted, the desire to slink down very contagious. With a collective groan, Lily fell down to her stomach, her legs stretched out, while Charon lay sprawled on his back. The Pichu, worried for the female vulpix, had rolled off Lily's back and cuddled up next to her in an attempt to lift up her spirits.

"Ugh," Charon moaned, looking up to the darkening sky through the forest canopy, "We walked and talked for the entire day and have nothing to show for it."

"At this rate we might never find the mother," Calien said, on the verge of tears, though that sadness was more due to the cruel delay of his plans than for the horrible predicament of the offspring.

"Don't talk like that, you guys! You'll make her cry," Lily pleaded, cuddling the pichu in return with a foreleg wrapped around the youth. The offspring was staring into the ground, on the verge of tears as well.

"But it's true, Lily. As far as the other creatures know, _I'm _the only other goddamn 'chu they've ever seen," Charon replied, "Either everyone in the forest is lying to us, or that kid's mother has been long gone from here, along with all the others."

"We should ask the offspring what she knows, Lily, or else we will not ever discover the whereabouts of her kin," Calien added, but too tired to turn his head to look at her.

The pichu began to tremble again. The security it felt being by Lily's side was slowly slipping away again. It didn't want to talk to anyone about her life…she wanted to leave all that behind. All she wanted was the comfort of a motherly figure, a role Lily had fulfilled tremendously well.

Lily felt the trembling and instinctively hugged her closer. "No, no, please don't be scared," The maiden vulpix whispered, "They only want to help you."

Charon, hearing the soothing whispers, couldn't help but worry even more about Lily. _Her bond with that kid is getting tighter by the minute…this is bad. She might NEVER go through with it tonight with her mate…or ever. If it goes from bad to worse, she might adopt that pichu for herself! God damn it!_

The Raichu quietly pulled on the curly-qs of his ears, releasing some growing stress. _If I don't find a way to pry her away from that kid, I'm doomed!_

_

* * *

_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was an amazing day! We celebrated Charon's first birthday, with cake and ice cream and all of his favorite treats. We invited the neighbors over, too, and they brought their Pichu to play with us! Charon was so happy to see her. Her name's Azelia, and she and Charon are playmates. They teach each other really neat tricks. Just the other day Charon lighted up the wood in the fireplace with his electresity (agh, I'm bad with big words). Mommy thought he was going to burn the house down and started hitting him with a broom! I rescued him just in time, though._

_I haven't got to the awesome part, though! When we were all at the table, Azelia and Charon evolved! They're no longer babies, Diary! They're pikachus! YAY! Charon is even cuter now! But everyone sure got a fright! But then, Daddy suddenly made the neighbors go away with Azelia! What a jerk! I never saw Charon so sad!_

_Daddy says that since Charon's no longer a baby, he's gonna like Azelia a whole lot more. They might get together and have pichus, so he wants to fix him! But why's he so worried about that? I read in a book that pikachus mate in the spring, and it's only fall! Mommy's not any better. She's even more scared of Charon now, and wants the sacks in his cheeks removed! And my brother…geez! He wants to teach Charon fighting techniques so that he could be like a scary guard dog! Honestly, can't my family leave him well enough alone?_

_I love Charon more than ever now…but I'm scared I'm going to lose him. No one else in the family treats him fairly. My bro tries to toughen him up, my mom wants him gone forever, and my dad wants to neuter him! I don't know what to do, Diary! _

_Worried about Charon,_

_Sarah_

* * *

The four of them, having gained enough rest, had lifted themselves up to a sitting position. Charon, Calien, and Lily came to realize that the only way they could ever help the pichu was if she were to open up to them. Neither Charon nor Calien (especially Charon) could approach the offspring without invoking fear, so the two males had no choice but to watch quietly as Lily, the Pichu still close to her side, attempted to make the pichu speak.

"I know you're scared, sweetie," Lily spoke to the pichu, gently rubbing her muzzle against the offspring as to calm her, "I'd be scared, too. But we need you to help us so that we can help you."

Charon and Calien watched intently, both hoping that her motherly role would prove enough to give the pichu the courage it needs.

"Don't worry about Calien and Charon. They won't do anything to hurt you. I made them promise not to, remember? They'll never break a promise," Lily continued, "You couldn't be any safer than with me."

Charon remembered that ritual well, since it only happened moments ago. Lily made Charon and Calien keep a promise by having the two of them intertwine her tails with theirs and shake upon it, much like the ritual western humans perform with their hands. It was odd in appearance, most likely adapted from growing up amongst humankind for a time, but very formal. Considering how serious Lily was about it, it almost seemed out of character…but it was already obvious that she was quite a different vulpix when taking responsibility of a child's welfare. There was no room for her usual playfulness and laid-back confidence: Helping a child in need was absolutely paramount.

"Can you tell me your name, sweetie?" Lily asked.

_That's very smart of her, _Charon thought, _Gain her trust, and then start small. I just hope the kid actually speaks._

The pichu, at first, could only look up to the female vulpix. Her glance kept going back and forth from Charon, to Lily, back to Charon, and so on and so on. Watching this, the group began to lose hope. Her fear of the raichu may be so great that any promise made by Charon could seem empty and false. But then, in a very faint whisper, the pichu spoke a single word.

"Ivy."

The two males breathed a sigh of relief. Progress had been made.

"Ivy's your name? That's a pretty name." Lily answered.

"Thank you," young Ivy uttered, not able to look into Lily's face anymore. The female vulpix continued her soothing touch.

"My name's Lily, Ivy. It's very nice to know you."

"You too." The offspring's tone was uneasy.

"Ivy…can you remember your mommy? What was she like?" Lily asked.

"My mommy…" Ivy trailed off, ready to cry again.

"Take your time, Ivy. We won't rush you," Lily reassured.

"Mommy…I miss my mommy. She was warm. She smelled like flowers. I loved her milk. She loved me." Ivy whispered.

"What did the others call her?"

"…I don't know."

_Wonderful, _Charon thought.

"Do you know what happened to your mother?" Lily asked.

The pichu hesitated once more. This time, nothing could hold back Ivy's tears.

"Daddy threw her out of the herd somewhere, because mommy hated him. Daddy was mean to me. He made me do things I didn't like…I ran away to look for mommy, to get away from daddy…but I couldn't find her! I can't find my mommy!"

Ivy buried her face into Lily, weeping at her helplessness. Lily, herself deeply touched, couldn't help but to weep as well. Calien continued to watch, words escaping him, while Charon's muscles began to tighten. The raichu's anger was threatening to consume him again. He understood what Ivy had meant, for he had confronted it before.

_Her father…he is one of the broken…and he is in command of a herd…the **bastard**.  
_

"Tell me…Ivy," Charon suddenly spoke up, his pacing slow and his tone restrained, "Where would we meet your father? If anyone would know where your mother is…it would be him."

The sound of Charon's voice instilled fear into Ivy. She circled away from Charon's sight, hiding behind Lily.

"He's over the big rocks! He's over the big rocks! Now leave me alone, you monster!" Ivy cried out.

Charon was stuck with the expression of confusion. "Big…rocks?"

"I think I know what she speaks of," Calien stated. "She refers to the mountain pass that divides the forest in two. It is no wonder then, that no one here knows much of her kin…they all live on the other side."

"That means we'll have to go over the mountains," Charon realized, "And we're too far away to traverse it in one day…that means…we'll have to leave in the morning."

_Wonderful. Looks like we're in for a difficult night._

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_I can barely write this to you. Terrible things happened today. Things I can never forgive._

_Charon is gone._

_It's all my family's fault. My stupid brother, trying to make him a fighting machine, brought a thunderstone home today. Before I knew it, he used it on Charon. _

_Charon is a raichu now. _

_I was able to make daddy promise not to fix him, and mommy was starting to get used to him…but this evolution crossed the line for everyone. Daddy and mommy won't let me keep Charon anymore. They say he's now too dangerous to keep. Even my brother is scared of him…when he used the stone on him, Charon panicked and let loose some electricity. It nearly killed him. My brother deserves it, though…he never took Charon's feelings into consideration._

_Dad tells me he's going to give Charon away to a company that works with pokemon. He won't say what kind. The neighbors say that they're doing the same to Azelia. Apparently they've gotten poor and can't take care of their pikachu anymore. That's one small comfort for Charon…after all this time of separation, he'll be back with his playmate again. I hope they'll get along like they used to, before they evolved from pichus. I don't think where they're going is going to be enjoyable._

_I hate my family._

_Sarah  
_


	10. A Confrontation

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I know...it's been longer than usual. I was "busy" enjoying my winter break. Anyways, I didn't forget about this story, thus things should be back to normal now, meaning that I'll try to update biweekly at the most.

Another thing: An admirer of this fic was kind enough to contribute her time in creating a fanart. It depicts an important scene from Chapter Four (though the background is off a tad, but no biggie. :D ) You can see the picture at DeviantArt. Just look up the artist "dt-pyro" (replace the three Ws in Deviantart's url with the name in commas and you'll be taken straight to her personal page. The picture is titled "Raichu". I'd post the url itself, but apparently this website does not allow urls to be written directly on stories.)

Now, on with the story.

**Chapter Ten**

"Is this where we have to stay?"

Calien, the male vulpix, frowned. With the dark mask of night upon the forest's doorstep, the four mammals had sought out an appropriate shelter to protect themselves from the dangerous elements, since they lacked the time to form a decent shelter themselves. However, they had traveled so far from familiar territory, where they knew of shelters no longer owned by creatures, that the vulpixes, the raichu, and the pichu grew desperate for shelter before the darkness spelled opportunity for predators. After much searching, they came upon the first vacant shelter…but it was hardly luxurious. The sole candidate for shelter were two holes in the ground, separated quite some distance, each leading to a burrowed, pitch-black cavern within the soil only a tad larger than Charon himself.

Lily, the pichu still close to her side, frowned at the lack of space. "They're…so small."

Charon grimaced. "Pffh! These holes sure aren't like the cave we had last night. There's no way in heck that we're going to cram ourselves into just one of them."

"Charon is right," Calien acknowledged, "The only way this will work is if we divide into two groups for the night."

Upon saying that, the male vulpix had turned a glance towards his mate-to-be. A smirk crossed his face flirtatiously. Lily began to blush while Ivy looked back and forth between the two vulpixes, struck with confusion as to the meaning in Calien's face. Charon, however, was not so innocent. He quickly acted upon the opportunity, hoping to squelch his growing temptation before it had a chance to go beyond the thresh-hold of self-control.

"Well, you two need some time together for the night," Charon stated, "Maybe Ivy could stay with me, so that you two can take care of things?"

The thought of having to share space with Charon immediately sent a chill down the pichu's spine. She huddled closer to Lily, her grasp nearly squeezing the blood out of the maiden vulpix's leg. Charon frowned upon the pichu's reaction and let out a gentle sigh, knowing full well that he shouldn't have expected enthusiasm towards his suggestion from someone scared to death of him.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Charon remarked.

Calien suddenly grew quite desperate, approaching Lily rapidly as to plead to her. "Lily, please! You promised that tonight would be the night!"

Lily looked to Calien sadly, her fox ears wilted down. "I know, Calien, but…Ivy wants to be with me. She's still too scared of Charon."

"Why would that be a problem?" Calien retorted, his desperation twisting his reasoning skills, "Just think of how educational it would be for Ivy! She will have to go through the same thing when she's older so she might as well get a head start on what's coming to her!"

Charon cringed. _Calien, you dumbass…_

The raichu watched in pity as Lily, suddenly infuriated by Calien's boneheaded suggestion, shrieked "Gah! You PERVERT!" promptly bitch-slapped her poor mate-to-be. "Oooow!" Calien cried, dazed somewhat from the blow. Ivy, still close to Lily, could not help but cringe as well, for the bitch-slap was quite fierce.

"This is supposed to be our private occasion, not some public show!" Lily snapped.

Calien began to grow teary. "But…you promised me…"

"I know I did, but…we can't. It'll have to be another night." Lily said apologetically.

The male vulpix was overwhelmed with sadness, as he began to sniffle and cry. "You promised, Lily…you promised me! Does a promise mean nothing to you!?"

"Of course it does, Calien, but things have happened!" Lily quickly stated, dismayed at Calien's sudden depression. But it was already too late. Calien, now sobbing, wailed out as he scurried away from Lily, Charon, and Ivy, disappearing into one of the holes for shelter tonight. The sounds of Calien's weeping were now cemented into the atmosphere. It struck Lily deeply as Charon, glaring at the hole the male vulpix escaped to, strained not to violently curse. It was awhile before anyone could summon the will to talk again.

"Well then," Charon spoke with forced calm, breaking their uneasy silence, "I guess this means that I'll have to shack up with Calien."

Lily looked away from Charon, feeling guilt. "Yeah…I guess so." Lily turned to the offspring beside her. "Come on, Ivy," she said softly, "It's time to go to sleep now."

Ivy nodded, and followed Lily into the second hole. "What was he talking about?" the pichu asked.

"You'll understand when you're older," Lily answered.

Charon had watched the two females depart from the open surface, entering their shelter for the night. When they were out of his view, the raichu slapped his brow. He dragged his paw down the length of his face, stretching the skin, in a futile effort to exert his stress. Once that was done, he turned to look at the hole where Calien had escaped to. After some hesitation, he started to walk forward to that hole, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Yet, before he got to the entrance, he stopped.

_What am I doing?_ Charon thought.

The raichu turned around, looking back to the other hole. A sense of determination struck him, straightening his posture and mangling his expression. _Why am I acting so damn helpless? All I felt was infatuation that night…nothing more! I haven't been struck by the scent yet - that scent that sets off the sex drive like an echo sets off an avalanche – so I still have some time! If I somehow get Lily to keep her promise tonight, it's one less thing I have to deal with – and the less problems, the better. _

The raichu marched forward to Lily's hole. _The only way to do that is to find out why she's so willing to break her promise. Hell, the fox doesn't seem the type to do that._

It did not take long for Charon to reach the shelter. Peering down into the darkness, Charon called out to her. "Lily? Lily, I need to talk to you!" the raichu spoke, his voice stern.

The maiden vulpix soon popped her head out from the hole, glaring at Charon. "Charon, what're you doing? Why are you talking like that? You're scaring Ivy again!"

"Anything I do would scare her. I'm a raichu, remember?" Charon stated bluntly, "I need you to come with me. It's very important."

"Now? But we were just getting comfortable, and it's late! Can't we save this for another time?" Lily pleaded.

"No, Lily. This has to be done now. Don't worry about Ivy- If she stays in there, she'd be fine. It's not like I have to drag you far."

"Alright, alright!" Lily surrendered, "If it will make you leave us alone, then I'll go with you, ok? I just want Ivy to be able to get some rest."

"And she'll get exactly that. Now come along," Charon snarled, growing impatient. The sudden tone struck an ominous chord in Lily's instinct as she climbed out of the hole. She glared at Charon even stronger now.

"Charon, what is with you all of a sudden?" The female vulpix asked almost angrily.

Charon hesitated, realizing his emotional slip. "You'll know soon enough, but you're going to have to keep your voice down," The raichu said, his tone suddenly back to normal. "Let's move over here," he continued, pointing to one of the trees in the distance, "We've got to keep this private."

"Um…ok, then," Lily responded, surprised at how quickly Charon's emotions could change. She reluctantly followed the raichu towards that particular tree, only a short distance away from the hole where Ivy resided. If Lily and Charon kept their voices down, neither Ivy nor Calien would hear their words. That is exactly what Charon intended; but it might prove difficult to stay quiet as their conversation goes on, as the two will soon find out.

Charon, standing on his hindlegs with his forepaws hanging down the sides, looked down to Lily. She was sitting down as all canines do, with the thighs of the hindlegs touching earth, her six tails fanned out on the ground, and her forelegs fully erect. "What's wrong, Charon? You're acting so strange," Lily whispered, looking up to Charon's face with an expression of concern, "We shouldn't be out here, you know…someone might attack us."

"I'm willing to take that risk," The raichu stated, his voice also at a whisper, "But I'm not a total idiot either. I can't speak about this easily without wasting time out here, so I'll cut to the chase: I want to know why you broke your promise."

Something clicked in Lily's mind, as she suddenly grew quite nervous before the rodent. "Why I…broke my promise?" She eeped out, her ears wilting before Charon, "I already said it was because of Ivy. W-what else is there to know?"

Charon frowned. "You sure there's no other reason, Lily? Not to imply anything, but having to care for Ivy was quite a convenient way to sidestep your promise."

"What? No! I'm telling you, that's all there is to it!" Lily snapped.

"You're getting a bit upset, Lily…you sure there's nothing else? Nothing like…that arcanine?" Charon spoke bluntly.

"What does that have to with anything?" Lily stammered, starting to inch away from the raichu.

"Calien thinks that ever since then, you've been scared of mating itself," Charon stated, not pulling any punches, "I don't see any reason why he would lie about that."

"Stop it, Charon! Stop!" Lily pleaded, feeling as though the world was collapsing around her, "You wouldn't understand!"

"Why, because I'm a male? Or is it because I'm a goddamn raichu?" Charon questioned, "That doesn't mean a damn thing, Lily! I, out of anyone, would know that if you keep this up, you're going to suffer for it!"

"What are you talking about?" Lily blurted out, growing ever more fearful.

"Stop acting stupid!" Charon nearly shouted, "Don't you know what happens to a female in the mating season? They go in heat, Lily! They give off a scent that drives males mad with lust! It hasn't happened to you yet; but believe me, once it does, your mate won't be able to hold himself back, never mind any broken animals that happen to be passing by!"

"W-why are you saying this?! You're lying! You HAVE to be!" Lily wailed.

_Oh, shit! _Charon suddenly thought, panicking at her sudden shouting. _She'll attract attention!_

Frantically trying to quiet the vulpix, the raichu rushed to her in an attempt to close her muzzle. Unfortunately, he did not take into account his weight and size. Poor Lily was toppled over as Charon, in his haste, ended up barging into her. The raichu, losing his balance, fell upon the maiden vulpix, pinning her back to the ground, their eyes level to one another. At the moment that they peered into each other's faces, they both froze in utter fear. Both, for different reasons, feared retaliation from the other if the slightest movement was made. Had the hips of the fox and the larger rodent been level to each other, there would have been no hope at all.

Charon felt a rush of passion attempting to succumb him, as the temptation to take advantage of the situation grew. His reasoning, however, screamed so loudly that out of fright he practically leapt off of Lily's body. He quickly turned away, holding his panging head and his throbbing heart, as Lily remained on the ground. The incident happened so quickly that it left the poor vulpix dazed and confused. Eventually, she managed to get back on her feet. She stared at Charon as the realization of what happened was absorbed into her conscience. Silence passed between them both.

"We should go back to the shelter now," Charon said, his tone soft, trying to pretend nothing happened.

"I…guess," Lily replied.

The raichu and the vulpix walked back to the two shelters, keeping as distant from each other as they possibly could.


	11. Emotionally Bankrupt

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well...this came around a little later than usual, and chances are this chapter will not be as good as it could be. D: I'm somewhat struggling on writing this story well, so any constructive critique would be welcome. Compliments are nice, but if you honestly think there's a spot where the writing could be improved, please say so. :D

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Upon the arrival of the morning sun, Charon, Calien, Lily, and Ivy awoke from their slumber. Not much in words were exchanged amongst them that morning. In fact, the group's individuals had grown more distant since the previous night, and it showed in the manner that they traversed the forest to make their way to the mountain pass.

Charon, who normally took the lead, trailed far, far behind the others. The raichu was doubly paranoid that Lily's trust in him had dramatically down-spiraled, since Lily would have to be a blithering idiot not to deduct that Charon had broken tendencies (and she obviously wasn't a blithering idiot.) It wasn't hard to imagine the hellish inferno that would follow if Lily sensed the slightest hint that poor Charon couldn't keep to himself.

Calien was next in the line, also by himself, and he was depressed as hell. Besides Lily's promise to mate with him last night being so promptly broken, for some reason his mate-to-be was staying as far away from him as possible now. He hadn't the foggiest idea what prompted this change, but he immediately assumed that he had to have done SOMETHING wrong. Not know what he did exactly, however, only depressed him further, especially when he would stare at Lily's backside.

Taking lead this time, Lily trotted through the forest ground nervously, an equally nervous pichu by her side. Of the group, her emotional stability was the worst off. The concept of going in heat was something unknown to her. Her only experience with the phase was when she became horribly moody in previous springs, sheltered in that store, without ever understanding why she acted that way. If what Charon said was true, Lily would be in serious trouble once her body starts to emit the scent…and if what she sensed from Charon was on the mark, the raichu would become her greatest danger. But it was too late to turn away now. She would never forgive herself if she didn't see it through that Ivy would reunite with her mother again. Such was the attitude of a surrogate caretaker.

* * *

The traveling quartet of mammals made their way up the mountain, their conversation minimal. While the mountain wasn't so high as to be inhospitable as Mt. Everest, the trail still proved to be quite unruly: the higher the group climbed above their sylvan homeland, the rockier and steeper the trail would become. Other parts of the trail narrowed to thin strips of land wrapped around a nearly vertical face of rock. The view over the edge from that particular chunk of the trail proved quite harrowing, for plenty of pointy rocks waited below, more than eager to make the last moments of a falling creature a gruesome one. Hugging against the rock-face as they would traverse these dangerous grounds, the four would often lament their lack of wings.

By the time they reached the peak of the mountain, where the land mercifully flattened out a bit, the four animals ached in every inch of their bodies. The exhaustion of Charon, Calien, Lily, and Ivy, combined with how their nerves were rattled from braving the most dangerous trail mother nature could concoct, caused their bodies to crumble to the earth.

"Ugh!" Charon grunted, his back to the ground as he shielded his beady eyes from the noontime sun, "This damn mountain path is going to kill us!"

"The trail is so horrendous," Calien moaned, "Ivy, how on earth did you ever traverse such nightmarish ground by yourself?"

The pichu did not answer, for as soon as they had reached the peak the young rodent had already succumbed to slumber, resting against Lily's ribs.

"Shhhh….Ivy's sleeping," Lily said, whispering to the two males.

"Sleeping? Why now?" Charon asked, somewhat irritated, "We should be getting out of this hell as soon as we can and it's going to be a lot easier if she's awake."

"Hush, Charon!" Lily pleaded, "She's only a little girl…let her get some rest. We need it too, you know!"

Charon sighed. "Yes…I know."

As Charon and Lily were having their conversation, the male vulpix was resting upon his stomach, eyeing Lily's figure. His better judgment clouded by tantalization, Calien inched closer to Lily on his stomach. The maiden fox did not sense or see his approach, for her back was facing Calien as she lied upon her side, focusing on getting Charon to shut up and leave the pichu alone. Taking this golden opportunity, Calien came so close to Lily that he was damn near spooning the maiden fox. One can imagine the petrifying of Lily's nerves once she realized that Calien was physically coming on to her.

"Lily? You're quiet all of a sud- " Charon began to say, as he rolled to the side to see why Lily had suddenly silenced herself, only to cut himself off just as quickly once he saw what Calien was doing. _Whoa,_ the raichu immediately thought, _Calien's either really brave or really desperate…_

"C-C-Calien?" Lily stammered, growing incredibly nervous at the male fox's touch, not even willing to turn her head to look at him. "W-W-What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Calien answered, "We used to do this all of the time in the winter."

"But we have c-c-company!" Lily stammered again.

"We have not done this in ages, Lily," Calien said, continuing his touch, "You broke your promise last night, so you could at least not shy away from this!"

The words that Calien spoke to her had pierced right through her, like verbal spears. Suddenly overcome by sorrow, Lily began to weep. Charon saw her tears and at once looked away, not wanting to watch the poor vulpix suffer like that. Calien heard the weeping as well, causing him to freeze his gentle touch. The sound of Lily's suffering stirred Ivy from her slumber, causing her to open her eyes groggily. Having come back from her slumber the pichu was blissfully unaware of what was going on.

"Calien…please," Lily pleaded, her body shaking and her voice a desperate whisper, "I'm sorry…I'll make it up to you…just don't do this now. Not in front of them. _Please._"

Charon sensed that Lily was not in the right state of mind to go through with what she meant to do last night. The raichu approached Calien, saying, "Calien, there's nowhere the kid and I could go if you want to cuddle up to your mate without peering eyes. We're stuck at the top of this mountain, remember? Wait until we get back to the forest. She'd be ready by then, wouldn't you, Lily?"

Charon peered to Lily, his expression reading _You're going to be ready by then, right! I'm going insane because of this! _It only served to instill even more nervousness into the maiden fox.

Calien, feeling guilty upon hearing the dismal voice of his mate-to-be, finally backed off, albeit. He rose again to his feet, recomposing himself. Lily remained on the ground, for she was providing Ivy the comfort of her warmth, thus letting the pichu fall back to sleep.

"I apologize, Lily," Calien said solemnly, "Our intimate time together should be private, as you say. I suppose…in a way I still feel cheated from last night. But that's selfish of me."

Lily did not respond, allowing an awkward silence to pass between them. Charon could see that she still was nervous as hell. He didn't know why at the moment, but it angered the raichu. Just yesterday Lily was quite a cheery, playful character…and now she's as fragile as an autumn leaf.

"We're going to need a bit more rest," Charon said, breaking the silence by changing the subject, "but not for too long. It's just too dangerous to hang around here for long."

"I'll say! You forest dwellers are luckier than a ditto at a breeding center!"

The new voice that popped out of nowhere, ridiculously high-pitched yet nearly booming at the same time, shocked the four mammals so badly that their hearts skipped several beats, as though their blood had suddenly transmogrified into oozing peanut butter. Ivy, in particular, literally leapt into the air, and scurried behind Lily as soon as she came back to the ground. All sharply turned to the source of the voice.

"What the?" Calien spoke, not exactly sure who or what he was looking at. Lily was equally dumbfounded, struck utterly speechless, while Ivy shrunk further behind the maiden fox, scared as always. It seemed that only Charon had any clue regarding the kind of creature that stood before him, its size barely smaller than the vulpix themselves…but all he could do was hold his head and suppress a chuckle.

"I never get used to seeing you guys," Charon said, "Your bodies are so round it's ridiculous."

"Hmph! You're getting a little round yourself, you oversized rat!" The creature snapped back, puffing its pink, spherical body to a larger size to display some newfound irritation.

Lily rose up to her feet, approaching the creature with great curiosity as Ivy reluctantly followed. "What…_are_ you?" Lily asked, cocking her head slightly. "Your eyes are so big…I can see my reflection in them!"

"Hey, hey! It's not nice to stare like that," The creature blurted, backing away slightly as it deflated back to normal, "Haven't you ever seen a jigglypuff before?"

Upon hearing that name, Calien nearly gagged. "You're called a jigglypuff?" he proclaimed in disbelief, on the edge of bursting with laughter, "What kind of a name is that!"

"That's what _I_ first thought," Charon said, grinning.

The jigglypuff was not amused. "Stop being mean!" It snapped, puffing its body again in anger, "If you're just gonna insult me I'll just lull you guys to sleep and throw you off the mountain!"

Hearing this threat, Charon immediately worked to ease the tension. "Calm down, alright? I was only joking about before. As fast as I'd like to get off this mountain I'd rather make it to the bottom alive."

Jigglypuffs, for some unknown reason, had the ability to lull their adversaries to sleep by means of their singing voice. The balloon-like creatures with cat-ears and forehead curls practice this skill daily, thus it was not wise to piss off a jigglypuff unless one wanted to be the recipient of a creative prank…or worse. Charon knew this all too well, for such a misfortune had happened to him in the past. Sensing the seriousness in Charon's voice, Lily and Calien opted not to question his actions.

"Yeah, that's what I _thought!_" The jigglypuff said, pointing at Charon with one of the flabby appendages that passed for forelimbs as it grinned victoriously. "You're pretty smart for a brute, you know that? Any other raichu would've just tried to zap me outright, but a lot of good _that _would do them! Heh-heh-heh!"

"You've seen other raichus before?" Charon hurriedly asked.

"Sure have! There's a few of them along with a whole lotta other chus down on the other side of the mountain," the jigglypuff explained, "Sometimes a raichu comes up here just 'cause they're bored to death, but otherwise they stay over- Hey! I remember you!"

The jigglypuff waddled over to Ivy, beaming with a smile. The pichu shrank even further behind Lily. "It's me, Marshie, remember?" The jigglypuff said, "I helped you get over the mountain some time ago. I see that you found a new family already. Way to go, Ivy!"

Ivy did not respond.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk," Marshie said, turning to Lily, "She sure is a shy one, eh? You should've seen how she was trying to climb the mountain all by herself, trying to run away from her nasty father. So helpless! So innocent! Brought a tear to my eye, it did. But how come you folks are bringing her back?"

Lily was hesistant to respond to this creature, still captivated by Marshie's unusual appearance. Calien saved face, however, and approached Marshie, speaking formally. "We are attempting to reunite Ivy with her mother while Charon here seeks the opportunity to regroup with his kind and earn a mate of his own. In the meantime, my mate-to-be is Ivy's caretaker."

"Ah, I see," Marshie acknowledged, "You must be former captives, then. It's rare to see anyone from the wild go out of their way to help someone not of their own race. 'Survival of the fittest' and all that crap."

"Marshie," Charon intervened coldly, "Did you come to us just for small talk?"

Charon's tone invoked a glare of disappointment from Lily and Calien. Marshie, however, seemed unfazed. "Well, of course not! Since you guys are so determined to go over this mountain I just wanted to warn you that you're gonna have quite a problem getting down to the forest floor."

"And why's that?" Charon asked.

"Well…do you know what a zangoose is?" Marshie inquired, "White fur with a jagged red spot, fierce eyes, about twice the raichu's height, lethal claws and all that stuff?"

"Don't tell me," Charon said, as looks of horror suddenly appeared on the vulpixes' faces (not to mention Ivy's), "There's a zangoose standing in our way?"

"Yes," Marshie confirmed, "His mate was captured by humans a few days before she would go into heat, so the guy's gone totally berserk! He goes apeshit on anyone who rubs him the wrong way. No one's been able to go up the mountain from the direction you guys are headed since he hangs around near the mountain's base. That's because everyone thinks he's gonna kill off any guys that get close so he can steal their females from them. A shame, really…he used to be quite a friendly fellow."

Lily hung down her head. "That's horrible…"

"I've seen worse," Charon responded. The raichu did not seem shocked by the predicament of the zangoose, for his tone wasn't exactly sympathetic.

"Anyway, unless you forest dwellers are really, really, REALLY good at sneaking around, that psycho zangoose is gonna cause you trouble once you get off this mountain," Marshie concluded, "And since you have a lumbering raichu in your group it's safe to say that your stealth abilites are just about nil."

"Then what do you suggest we do about it?" Charon asked, annoyed by the comment directed at him, "If we have to fight off that zangoose then we'd have no other choice but to face him head-on."

"That, my oversized rodent friend, is downright _suicidal_," Marshie stated, "There's only three ways to do this: you either travel in a large arc around where he loiters about, which would make your path a lot more dangerous; find someone that could knock him unconscious without having to shed blood; or, if all else fails, find a female that's willing to be his mate. Nothing calms a male down more than getting laid, or so I've heard."

The male vulpix sighed sadly to himself, looking down to the ground. Any thought of mating with Lily was becoming an emotionally painful routine.

"Well, I'd go for option two, then," Charon stated, "Since you're so concerned for us it'd be no problem for you to tag along and help, right?"

Marshie hesitated. "Me? Come along? But…I've never been off this mountain before. I'd just be extra baggage, for sure! That, and I'd rather not get close to that zangoose myself."

"Marshie…we don't stand a damn chance paving our own way through the mountain, and Lily here would most likely die before she ever submitted herself to some crazed broken," Charon reasoned, "But we'd have _some_ chance if you lend your singing voice. Otherwise, I'll see to it that your balloonish body makes for a lovely punting ball."

"Pfft!" The jigglypuff scoffed, adjusting the pink curl on its forehead, "Why bother with needless threats? If you need my help that badly, then I'll have no choice but to come along. I can't have Ivy gnawing at my conscience, anyhow. Such a cute little rodent, she is."

Charon breathed a sigh of relief. "Welcome to the 'herd'," he said to the jigglypuff.

"I'm very honored," Marshie replied, taking a bow.

* * *

_Where is my mate? Where did she go? Where did they take her? I still remember her scent, her warmth, her touch. They're torturing me now. The memories tear at my soul. Her screams, her cries of help, her wails of sorrow. They peel at the flesh of my body. They expose my weakness. Where is she? Where did she go? She is gone. Gone. Gone. Why is she gone? Humans took her, beat her, stole her. She is gone. I am alone. Lost. I have nothing. Nothing. Nothing. No one. I am the last. I am alone. But everyone else prospers. They pity me. They pity ME. How can they? They have mates. They mount their females. They thrust. They moan. They enjoy pleasure. I endure pain. Pain. Pain. Pity? It is mocking. They take pleasure in my pain, my suffering, my despair. They hated me. I was strong, feared, respected. I am ruined. They enjoy it. They are monsters. Monsters. Monsters. Monsters deserve death. They deserve to die. Their females. Females. Females should be mine. All of them. I shall mount, thrust, over and over and over and over and over…_

_They will be mine._


	12. Katar

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know this is horrendously late. In light of that, I tried my best to make up for it. A big thank-you to "Raichu" for his helpful comments. I'll do the best I can, but I apologize if I might be doing the same mistakes you pointed out before.

P.S. A blatant typo on the first line is now fixed. Sorry. D:

CHAPTER 12

_Tsk, tsk, tsk…that's no way to treat the flora. They mean no harm to anyone…_

_Waaaaaah! It hurts! It hurts so much! Waaaaah!_

_There, there, my dear oak tree…it will heal over time, just you wait…though that's gonna leave one hell of a mark._

_WAAAAAAAH!_

_Hey, calm down! You're a grown tree, aren't you? The others would hold great respect for you bearing a scar like that. Your saplings would be proud!_

_Sniff…I guess so…but still! That meatbag is so mean! What did I do to have my poor bark gashed like that? AYE! Don't touch it, it's still tender!_

_My dear tree…you forget that I am not composed of solid matter. Besides, I only want to see if the sap has hardened. No sense letting you bleed to death, right?_

…_No…_

_Well, there you go! Anyways, the sap HAS hardened, so I don't see why you're whining so much. It is hard to feel sorry for a hypochondriac, don't you know that?_

_B-But it was so unexpected! No warning, no signs of danger at all! Oh, the cruel injustice! WAAAAAAH!_

_Stop crying already! Sheesh! If this animal violated you so badly, can't you tell me what it looks like? You know poetic justice is one of the specialties of my kin…and I happen to be the head-honcho, just to let you know._

_Sniff…really?_

_Yes, really! Now name the perp already!_

_Aiee! Don't rush me, I'm still in pain! Ok…it was definitely a meatbag...a male one; on top of that…white fur, with a red streak on the chest and face…fierce eyes…and- ACK! Don't make me think of those horrible claws! Waaaaaaah!_

…_Crybaby…_

_I am NOT a crybaby!_

_Yes you are._

_No I'm NOT! WAAAAAAH!_

_Knock it off already! You gave me enough information for me to deal with the perp, alright? There's nothing to cry about anymore._

_Sniff…really?_

_Yes…there's only one forest dweller that fits your description. His name's Katar. Usually he's rather benign, but I guess something really ticked him-…oh…_

_W-what? What is it?_

_My accomplices just informed me that Katar has snapped. His mate, Pata, was taken from him by humans…now that he's the only zangoose left, the mammal is boiling with hatred and is on the verge of committing a vile atrocity. In this case you should be glad you are a tree…if you were an animal, Katar may have done much worse…_

…

_With mating season in full swing, his anger puts the whole forest in danger of chaos…I have to deal with this personally…in a covert manner, that is. A hands-on approach would not be appropriate, for not everything can be solved by…oh…well, this is going to be interesting…_

_What? Why…why are you smiling like that?_

_Some foreigners are about to attempt to bypass Katar with the help of a mountain dweller…and, except for one, they don't stand a ghost of a chance to survive if they fail with this scheme. I must leave you know…it's been awhile since I have been entertained._

_Enter…tained? B-but won't you try to save them?_

_I'm not a babysitter. If they want to reside in my domain they have to show they possess the strength to survive life's hardships. Otherwise, they're better off dead. Now, I bid you goodbye._

…

* * *

Tension was in the air. It seemed to float above the heads of the travelers, amongst the grey clouds of the orange sky, like a guillotine crusted with dried blood, awaiting the moment to come crashing down with the rain that pelted their fur and flesh. Any fears that the vulpixes, chus, and jigglypuff had casted upon each other withered away, replaced by a unanimous fear of the zangoose. 

As they huddled closer together while taking their first steps into the forest (Calien and Lily side-by-side, Ivy clutching to her caretaker's back, and Charon and Marshie juxtaposed on both sides of the fox couple,) all eyes searched through the bushes, the trees, and the persistent rain for their enemy. While none of them (save for Marshie) had ever seen a Zangoose before, the jigglypuff's description of the creature was harrowing. A creature of Charon's height already possessed an intimidating size for the common forest dweller; but even he would be easily dwarfed by the claw-wielding monster, making the zangoose a terrifying behemoth in the travelers' eyes.

"Marshie," Charon spoke in a hushed manner to the jigglypuff as they walked, not peeling his eyes away from their surroundings, "The forest is much too quiet…this zangoose...it feels like he's going to ambush us."

"That's about the size of it," Marshie replied in a similar tone, "A zangoose can gut a fella faster than a snake can bite, and that's 'cause they _hate_ snakes to the bone. If any of ya was a snake you'd have no chance at all…he'd zone in on ya and rip ya to pieces."

Ivy squeezed harder on Lily's back, now burying her face, whimpering, into the vulpix's red fur. The maiden vulpix dipped her head, saddened by her inability to console the pichu. She felt trapped in the same chokehold of fear as the offspring. She inched closer to Calien's side as they walked, seeking comfort in his warmth as some of her tails intertwined with his own. In normal circumstances, the male fox would most definitely have blushed at the intimacy, regardless of the recent turbulence between them…but instead he was looking up to the sky, great concern written across his face.

"The rain grows stronger," Calien said, "Not even the forest canopy could withstand a downpour…at this rate, Lily and I would not be able to use our flame. But we cannot take shelter…we would be sitting ducks."

Charon peered upwards. His eyes squint as the falling rain, growing heavier and louder by the passing minute, gradually soaked his body as well as his companions and the surrounding trees. The thousands of water-drops pummeling the forest called out to the dwellers with their percussion, filling the air with the unified, tranquil roll of aquatic drums, in defiance of the imminent danger of the unseen enemy.

_I don't like this…I don't like it at all, _Charon thought. He scanned the premises again as the group continued their nervous footsteps. _There's no decent shelter nearby…Calien and Lily might be rendered defenseless…and the sound of the rain is making it impossible to listen to his movements. We might not know where that zangoose is hiding until he strikes!_

"Guys, we have to form a circle, _now_," Charon said urgently.

"A circle?" Calien questioned.

"Yes, a circle! Come on, all of you! Encircle that tree over there!" Charon barked.

"But wh-."

"No questions! Just do it!"

Charon rushed over to a nearby oak tree. The others reluctantly followed suit. Moments later, the drenched group of mammals surrounded the tree in all directions, mingling amongst its roots, their back facing the trunk. The branches of this oak tree were too light to shield the 'chus, the vulpixes, and the jigglypuff from the shower of rain now falling upon them. Ivy, her body chilled, began to sneeze to the side of Lily, as though not to cover the maiden vulpix's fur coat in germs. The whole lot of them shivered as they continued to be saturated in the falling water.

"This is terrible," Lily said, her tone quivering as her emotions were taking their toll.

"Is there a reason we are taking position around this tree like fools with a death wish?" Calien complained, before he had to sneeze.

"It's just as foolish to try going anywhere in this goddamn rain, nevermind with a psychopath at large!" The raichu snapped, "Now shut up and keep an eye out."

"Since when were you the boss of me?" Calien asked irritatingly.

"Believe me; I know what I'm doing. Besides, I doubt you have a better idea at the moment," Charon rebutted.

"You all hush now!" Marshie chastised, puffing up its body, "He'll jump us for sure if we're distracted!"

The group quieted down again. As they stood amidst the pouring rain around that tree, they felt their feet sink into the ground as the dirt became slippery mud. Charon and the others constantly squinted as the raindrops frequently invaded their eyes. Calien stiffened his posture, staring outwards as best as he could like a guard dog, while Lily's face began to nod down to the ground, her body filled with as much despair and sickness as the trembling offspring on her back. Marshie scanned the area constantly left to right, his huge eyes shifting like an erratic pendulum of a grandfather clock.

The raichu pressed his back hard against the tree, the same way he pressed against the rock in the cave where he first met the two vulpixes. His teeth clenched together and his forepaws tightly gripped the bark of the tree as the beating of his heart grew in strength.

_I cannot hear anything but the rain…but he's out there…I know it. He's waiting for his opportunity, and like hell I'm going to give it to him, _Charon thought, as the electric sacs in his cheeks began to spark, _I didn't come this far just to be slaughtered by a lunatic!_

As the minutes passed by, the tension in the air grew higher and higher. Anxiety gripped its iron fist tighter on them all. Every dark shadow, every rustle of a branch or bush, seemed to betray the lurking, hidden form of the zangoose; and yet the rain continued its downpour, caring not for the lives of these mammals in a foreign land.

"Guys…I don't want to stay here…it isn't safe," Lily pleaded, the knot in her stomach so tight that she was on the verge of throwing up.

"It is not safe whatever we do," Calien said, teetering on the edge of panic, "it is as though someone up above wants us to die."

"Leave that human crap out of this!" Marshie snapped (even more so than Charon had ever snapped), "It's not gonna help us get out of this alive."

Amidst this talk, Ivy began to whimper, burying her face into Lily's coat.

"Lily, make her stop," Calien blurted out, "Her crying will attract that zangoose!"

"I can't make her do that, she's just an offspring," Lily eeped.

"But you must do SOMETHING! She could spell the death of us all!"

"Do you want me to smother her! Do you?" Lily cried out, "I'd rather give myself to the zangoose than ever lay a paw on her!"

"Calien, Lily, all of you! Shut up!" Charon shouted, "Leave the damn kid alone!"

Ivy's pathetic whimpering suddenly became a desperate wail. The sheer expression of despair seemed to echo through the forest, silencing the quarrelers. Only the percussion of the rain was left in the air as the forest dwellers petrified, expecting the zangoose to leap from the bushes to slay them all.

Nothing.

_Damn it…what the hell is that zangoose doing? What is he waiting for? He must be playing games with us…letting us become paranoid of everything…the sick bastard! _Charon thought, as the sparks on his cheeks intensified along with his scowl. After the awkward silence had passed, he spoke quietly to the Jigglypuff, who stood next to him in their circle.

"Marshie…we need to take a gamble."

"…A gamble?" Marshie questioned.

"How far can you reach with your voice?"

"How far? Well…I'd put the whole mountain asleep if I wanted, but I had the echo to help me."

"Uh-huh. Listen carefully Marshie…I want you to use your voice."

"Now?"

"Yes. Use it now."

"But…we don't even know if that zangoose is even nearby."

"That's true…but if he is and he's aware of us, he'll try to strike before you can finish your song."

The jigglypuff gulped. "You want me…to be bait?"

"…I'm sorry…but I don't know how else to do this. We have to lure this bastard out of hiding and defeat him somehow, or else we'll never know peace in this forest."

Marshie fell silent. The vulpixes and the pichu seemed not to be paying attention, nearly drained from the emotions taking their toll on their bodies.

"Please, Marshie…I don't know about them, but I'd do all I can to stop this lunatic from taking any lives. Creatures like him have already forsaken their world…if they're not put out of their misery, it…it leads to massacre."

"You really think you can take on this zangoose, don't you?" Marshie said solemnly.

Charon chuckled. "Not really. But there is too much to lose if I don't even try," He responded, as thoughts of Calien, Lily, and the pichu appeared in his mind, cursing silently for them ever getting involved with him.

The jigglypuff sighed. "Alright, I'll sing…but keep in mind you guys will end up dozing too."

"I'm willing to take that risk," Charon replied.

Marshie looked to Lily, who also stood next to Marshie. "Are you guys ok with it?"

Calien and Lily reluctantly agreed, while Ivy remained silent. In her current state, the offspring would just want to be anywhere but out in this rain, never mind with the zangoose about.

The jigglypuff took in a deep breath, preparing his lungs. "Ok, then…here goes."

Marshie began to sing his song. If he here not a creature of the wild, chances are his notes would have taken inspiration from human culture. Instead, his tune was a self-taught hymn: one continuous, deep, haunting note, filled with its own natural reverberation that seemed to reach out and summon the open, towering, awe-inspiring essence of the mountain that served as his home. At first the hymn sent shivers down the spines of the mammals, but as the note was sustained in their ears, drowsiness began to envelop their bodies.

_I must stay awake…as long as I can, _Charon thought, as the raichu bit down upon his lip, pressing harder on his back to keep a straight posture, _The zangoose would have to strike…I know it…it's just a matter of knowing where…_

The song continued. The drowsiness gained ground. The travelers, save for the singing jigglypuff, slowly began their descent into the mud. Their legs trembled as they struggled in vain to resist the jigglypuff's spell, so as to be ready when the attack would come. Charon gripped the tree with his paws as though trying to choke it in futility with the whole of his body.

_Must…stay…awake!_

Desperate to stay awake, Charon tossed his head back. The back of his noggin hit the tree trunk hard. A sharp, but tolerable pain shot into his skull as his vision momentarily peered upwards...and gasped.

_OH SHIT!_

Charon had no time to shout a warning. With a ferocious cry the zangoose, Katar, lying in wait high in the branches of the tree they surrounded, dove feet-first to the ground. Marshie cut his song short, and shot his eyes upward just in time to see the zangoose's feet rapidly approaching him, intending to crush his body. Screams of horror erupted in Charon's ears as Marshie frantically rolled away at the last moment, leaving the zangoose to violently splash mud as he landed on the wet ground.

Katar bore his sharp teeth in a serpent smile; his fierce gaze alit with bloodlust. "Am I that weak to you? AM I?" He shrieked.

Charon froze at the sight of the zangoose. The creature truly was a towering behemoth. The terrifying gaze, the wild pattern of his fur, the claws long enough to run the raichu straight through…no amount of description proved enough to prepare him for such a monstrosity. None.

For the first time in months, the raichu feared for his life.

The zangoose charged after the jigglypuff, his claws wildly swiping. Marshie dove with a shout behind a tree as the monster missed his mark, goring the tree itself instead. The two of them tangoed around that tree as Marshie tried desperately to get away from the creature trying to murder him, splashing water every which way.

"HELP ME!" Marshie cried, the terror ringing clearly in his voice. However, that help proved vaporous. Lily and Ivy already ran away, cowering in a bush, while Charon stood petrified in face of Katar's ferocity. Calien, however, somehow mustered up the bravery to answer the call. The vulpix charged forward to close the distance, then he stopped in place, unleashing an inferno with a shout...only to find his own flame extinguished by the rain. His eyes opened wide as his vulnerability betrayed him.

Katar felt no lick of fire, but his instinct still dictated a threat behind him. Quickly breaking off from Marshie, the zangoose madly rushed to the luckless vulpix. As Marshie, overcome with panic, disappeared into the woods (thus deserting his companions) Charon watched in horror as Katar slashed Calien across his face. Lines of crimson streaked across Calien's muzzle, cheek, and left eye as he fell to the ground with a cry of horrible pain. The fox's blood bled profusely, mixing with the mud and water as Katar stood before him, the zangoose's thirst for violence hardly sated.

"You all mock me!" Katar cried. "You think I'm weak because I couldn't fight off the humans who stole Pata away from me! You spit in my face and laugh, enjoying my suffering! This forest is filled with nothing but monsters…you all deserve to DIE!"

Katar raised a claw up in the air, intending to bring it down upon the fallen vulpix for the fatal blow. That finally set off the Raichu. In desperation he rushed the zangoose, his electricity cackling around his body, primed to electrocute the monster…but he suddenly stopped, slid, and fell over as Lily stampeded from out of nowhere, wailing the name of her mate-to-be as she tackled the zangoose from the side, toppling the ambushed Katar into the mud. Ivy no longer rode on her back…the offspring was now cowering by her lonesome in her bush, watching helplessly the violence unfolding her.

"Lily, you idiot! Get away!" Charon cried out, his electricity dissipating as he struggled to get back on his feet, slipping on the ground, "You have no chance without your fire!"

Lily could not hear Charon's words. She cared now only for saving Calien's life, even if it meant sacrificing her own. Her carnivorous teeth bit deeply into Katar's arm. Katar roared in pain. He shot back up to his feet, lifting the enraged maiden vulpix by the arm clenched in her muzzle, and franticly stumbled to the tree the travelers had surrounded. With a shout he whipped his arm against that tree, fiercely pounding Lily against the bark in the process, until the female fox dropped down to the ground, concussed and wracked with so much pain she could not even stand.

"Leave her alone, you BASTARD!" Charon roared, as he finally got back onto his feet. His electricity cackled again, eagerly awaiting to be unleashed…but before the raichu could unleash his power Katar had already closed the distance between them. The Zangoose stabbed his claws forward, impaling the raichu's shoulders in unison. Charon choked on his breath as the pain paralyzed his body. He glared at Katar with wide eyes as he saw the serpent smile beaming from the zangoose.

"You will regret angering me," Katar said to him solemnly, now lifting the raichu up from the ground by his claws, "I will gut you…I will make you bleed."

Charon squirmed as the pains of crucifixion coursed through his body. "We…we did nothing to wrong you!" He stammered.

"You did everything to wrong me! Everyone in this forest did everything to wrong me! I should dismember you for even pretending to be innocent!" Katar snapped, as he pulled his claws back out of Charon only to knock the air out of him with a vicious kick. Charon crumbled to the muddy ground, much like Calien did only moments before.

"But there's something else I have to do before ending your cruel existence," Katar said. The zangoose turned to face Lily, who, in her battered state, had already begun to weep. "There is something that angers me more than those who mock me...it is knowing that some of them are female."

Lily's eyes opened wide as Katar slowly began to approach her. She froze right at the spot where she fell from being whipped against a tree, fearing the zangoose's intent. Charon's blood, despite that it was bleeding out of his shoulders, already began to boil.

"These weakling females mock me the same way that the males do," Katar stated, "To say that it infuriates me would hardly scratch the surface. They think I am merely upset only because I have no one to mate with anymore; yet they never, EVER stop to think how much suffering Pata has to endure."

"Tell me, little fox," Katar said to Lily as he approached closer and closer, "Can you imagine a world where you are considered a cog in a machine? Can you imagine a world where you lack any freedom? Can you imagine a world where your only purpose is to bear one offspring after another that you can never tend for and raise, by the seed of a male you can never choose, a male who is driven mad with lust and charged to impregnate you, whether you will it or not, by any means necessary?"

Lily shook her head back and forth…"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" She wailed. Charon's breathing quickened as the anger inside of him rose to a dangerous level…a level he had reached only once in his lifetime.

"Of course you don't! Only a human could conceive something so atrocious!" Katar shouted, "But that's why Pata was taken from me…those humans wanted zangoose pets…and since they find nothing wrong with mixing different species together, all they needed was a female! Do they care that they stole my right to her offspring? Do they care that she was the only other zangoose in this entire forest? No! And as much as I tried, THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO ABOUT IT!" Katar rushed forward and stabbed deeply into the tree Lily laid next to, the claw inches above her head. The maiden fox could only stare helplessly at the enraged zangoose, as Charon, eerily quiet, stood back upon his legs. His forepaws were tucked to his chest, shaking as a murderous rage threatened to tear his own body apart.

"What…what does that have to do with me?" Lily wept.

Katar pulled his claw out of the tree, peering down at the fox. "Being a female, I would have expected you to sympathize for the torture Pata has to endure now. But no…you females mock me all the same. You, and all the females in this forest, are IGNORANT of my mate's suffering. If you're so willing to discard Pata's misfortune, you deserve to suffer the same as she is now!"

The shock through Lily's mind was immense. "N-n-no! Wait! Don't do this, please! I-I-It's not right!" The maiden vulpix pleaded, struggling to get back up to run away. Katar quickly pinned her with his forearm, oblivious to what was going on behind him.

"It's too late to beg for mercy!" Katar proclaimed, as he started to drag Lily's squirming body away from the tree, "It is time for you to pay the price!"

"B-But I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!" Lily wailed.

"Lies!" Katar snapped, "You try to delay the inevitable!" The zangoose drove Lily into the mud, trying to force her into position. The vulpix kicked in every direction, her underbody caked in the wet dirt.

"P-P-PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!" Lily cried, one last time.

"If you shout at me one more time, then I swear that I will-!"

That was as far as Katar ever got, for Charon, possessed by a demonic rage that charged an electric aura around his entire body, threw his weight at the zangoose with a harrowing cry. Katar lost his balance from the furious tackle of the raichu, sliding in the mud as the raichu drove the zangoose's body straight into the tree. At the moment Katar slammed against the tree, Charon set off the full force of his electricity. Lightning enveloped the zangoose and the tree as the raichu electrocuted them both with power akin to a god. A thunderclap echoed through the atmosphere as the forest, for a brief moment, glowed with the light of a clear summer day.

The light and the thunder died away, allowing the rain to continue. All that remained was a burnt tree and a dead zangoose slumped over the Raichu's own body. Stepping back, he let the limp body fall face-down into the mud. Lily stared at Charon, as one would stare at a monster.

"You…you killed him," Lily eeped.

Charon stood at the tree, staring down at the lifeless body. Yes, he had killed Katar, but not just because Katar was about to violate the vulpix. The words of the zangoose had unearthed memories from his mind that he had kept suppressed ever since he first entered the wild. He had taken revenge on the zangoose, but killing him could not stop the flood. For the first time in a long while, Charon remembered how much of a monster he truly was.

He had to get away from them. Lily, Calien, Ivy…none of them were safe in his proximity. He had to run. He had to run as far and as fast as he can. And so he did, leaving a trail of blood that dripped from his shoulders.

"Charon, wait! Come back!" Lily called out to him…but she lacked the strength to follow.


	13. The Warden

**_Author's Note: _**Well, I suppose a wait of nearly two months is inexcusable. I would love to detail all about how combinations of finals, job-searching, and writer's block horrendously delayed this incoming chapter, but all you would really care about is me getting things back into gear. With this chapter finally uploaded, my summer job secured, and no academics to worry about, you can look forward to more frequent updates...I think. D: Of course, be sure to let me know what you think of this chapter. To be honest I was thinking of adding more, but I didn't want to delay this chapter any further than it already has. Sorry. D:**  
**

**Chapter 13**

Charon would never remember how long, nor how far, he ran through the forest. The raichu, overcome by emotions and spilling a trail of blood that would make weaker beings shudder, couldn't even make out the forest itself. The forest, because of pouring rain and the darkness of the night, transformed for him into a living hell. No sense of direction, water everywhere, mud and bushes tripping him like invisible mocking imps.

He wanted to escape. He no longer thought of his desire for a mate, his desire to prolong his bloodline, nor his desire to pull himself out of the lonely existence he has endured. He only wanted to escape, to leave everything behind, to protect others from himself. He wanted things back the way they were. No, not enough. He wanted to disappear forever.

Some force of nature must have read his mind, for before he knew it, his feet were no longer touching ground. He toppled and fell down a steep incline, banging against rocks and shrubs, plummeting into what felt like a black, sightless pit as the world blurred around him. He would not remember how long he fell, for by the time he stopped at the bottom he was already slipping into a coma.

His last sight was the canopy of the forest looming over him, blocking the stars, rain racing to pummel his face and body. His last feeling was the pain of his flesh wounds, augmented by his fall, seeming to siphon the very life out of him, the mud caked against his body as like an impromptu coffin. And his last thoughts were not of the pichu, or the vulpixes, or the elusive herd of 'chus that, he assumed, he would never be able to see. Instead, his mind thought of only one thing:

_Azelia…_

_

* * *

_

She could collapse at any moment.

Lily, the maiden vulpix, suffered greatly as she barely managed to rise upon her four legs. Her whole body felt bruised; the most cautious of motions would shoot paralyzing pain through the entirety of her body, but it compared little to the fears that drove her to stand and not collapse to the ground to die. She was terrified of the limp body of the zangoose, terrified of the raichu's act of abandoning, terrified that her mate may no longer be alive, but most of all terrified that Ivy, the young pichu, may have ran away, thus throwing her fragile mind and body into the merciless maw of the forest.

She had to call out to the offspring.

Clearing her throat, Lily called out Ivy's name to the best of her ability. Her voice was weak, quivering from the injuries she suffered. She prayed that Ivy could hear her, rush to her side, provide comfort they both desperately needed.

No one answered.

Lily called her name louder, no longer caring about the possible dangers. She cared for the welfare of offspring more than she cared for her very life. If she was to admit this greatest of failures, she would not be able to move on. The grief would paralyze her, maybe even stop the beating of her small heart.

No one answered.

"It is no use calling out to her," Said a familiar, but exhausted voice from behind, "She is likely petrified in fear." Lily at once turned around, immediately relieved that someone was still alive, yet as soon as she laid her eyes on the face of her mate-to-be the maiden vulpix recoiled in fright. Calien's canine face bore deep, red claw-wounds that desecrated half of his once-handsome face. The eye on that side did not survive Katar's brutal attack, now a grotesque, gelatinous mass of flesh, no longer capable of sight.

"I cannot say I bear good looks anymore," The male vulpix said solemnly.

"Calien," Lily began to speak; but because she faced the guilt of pushing him away for so long in favor of their perilous journey for the pichu's salvation, only to have her mate-to-be forever marred (and nearly killed), her voice trailed away. Would words of comfort from her be of any good, being the prime cause of his great misfortune?

Calien said nothing. Instead he walked past her, his paws sinking slightly in the mud, towards one of the bushes, not even bothering to glance at the body lying beside them. Lily watched him as a sense of helplessness crept into her mind.

"I saw the offspring take refuge within this bush," Calien said as he started to part the bushes, "There is a good chance Ivy is still in here somewhere, if I know her well enough." He paused briefly. "What happened to Charon?"

Silence passed between them, for the maiden vulpix was hesitant to speak. "Well?" Calien asked again, pushing the question. He did not bother to look back, his good eye fixated on the bush in front of him.

Lily struggled for a moment to find the will to even look at Calien, nevermind speak. Her body weakened further, her vulpine legs feeling like dry branches on the verge of snapping. "He…he ran away, after…after-"

"After killing the zangoose?" Calien finished for her, his voice unwavering in its serious tone. Lily fell silent, as her sight dropped back to the mud before her. The maiden vulpix's paws dug into the earth, as she subtly clenched her teeth together, fighting desperately not to fall to pieces.

Calien sighed. "This means we are on our own for now," the male vulpix stated somewhat morbidly, as he continued his search. He pushed aside more of the leaves until the familiar yellow of the offspring reached his vision. "I was right about Ivy," he commented, his voice void of enthusiasm.

Lily looked up, her hopes somewhat perked. She watched as Calien reached into the bush with his canine jaws. Moments later, the tiny Pichu emerged from the bush, held gently over the earth by the flesh of her back in the vulpix's mouth. Her body hung like a ragdoll, the head bowed, as though she was lynched. It did little to ease Lilly's despair, whose gaze froze upon the offspring.

Already she could see the torture that would await her. Somehow, in her comatose state, Ivy would perish. So tragic would her death be that the suffering of her short life would channel into her spirit. She would be reborn as a vaporous ghost, doomed to forever wander the forest, invisible, deaf, never again to feel the warm touch of her mother even if she stood right beside her. Ivy would cower, claw at the air, and bawl as her echoing wails of despair go unheeded, unanswered, and ignored until the end of time, for no one would hear her, not even her mother…save for the female who failed her.

Lily's legs gave out on her as she fell to the awaiting soil. Her consciousness faded as Calien rushed to her side, fearing the worst of everything.

* * *

_Hmmmm…I'm not sure what to make of it all._

Unbeknownst to Charon and the others, a unique being, one lacking of flesh and bone, had been watching the events that unfolded. No mortal eye could see him, for he usually preferred being unseen, yet his eyes could see all within his "domain". He could also hear things that mortals normally could not hear. In the case of recent events, this was a blessing, for the sylvan landscape was crying murder. Charon's explosion of electric fury cost the life of one of the great elder trees. To lose a great friend and a respected source of knowledge sent a shockwave through all of the towering barks. Forgetting that the terrorizing Zangoose first sparked the flame Charon unknowingly fueled, they demanded their overseer, the fleshless being, to enact justice upon the rodent.

_Death, death to the tree-killer! _ Demanded the trees, their 'voices' united as one, _Burn him to embers as he burned our greatest elder!_

The fleshless being sighed. It was a wonder he didn't go insane with all the issues he's dealt with over the years. _My dear members of the flora, as the Warden of this forest I can't just carry out demands based on seething sensationalism. You clearly forget the circumstances of this particular…predicament. The raichu's merely a foreigner defending his equally foreign companions- at least, I think they're companions. However, he seems to have a slight penchant for overkill, not that he necessarily indulges in it. Based on his peculiar actions, he might even carry a heavy guilt for it._

_That's all you have to say for this murder? How soft you are! _accused one of the trees. They rustled furiously in face of the Warden's dismissing attitude._ We won't except any excuse for this atrocity, this desecration of our kind! Creatures of the wood are supposed to know better! This, this **rat,** it might as well be **human! **_ _Look, the creature's blood flows like a river. He has abandoned his companions and has thrown himself into our maw. Let us finish him, so that his presence doesn't defy us further!_

_If anyone lays a finger on the rodent, I will see to it his mind is violated by nightmares from sunrise to sundown, from dusk to dawn, until the end of his days! _cried the Warden, as his patience with the trees quickly withered and died, _you trees have always been so shallow, thinking only of your own species and kin. You couldn't possibly comprehend what was going through that rodent's mind, watching that psychotic zangoose attempt to destroy and violate his companions. And need I remind you that the zangoose intentionally gutted your barks, while in the raichu's case it can only be called, of all things, an accident?_

The trees grew even more furious. _The zangoose's abuse can heal over time, but none can revive the elder after what the rodent committed! We demand justice, and we demand it now!_

The Warden sighed. _Oh, so you're that determined to punish a creature for trying to protect his companions? Fine, we can do just that, but it will be done by my hand and my hand alone! Despite your anger, you all know the raichu's intent was noble. I won't see that rewarded with a needless death!_

_Whatever it may be, just- _In the midst of a tree's snapping command, it suddenly became paralyzed in the midst of a brief, but dangerously vivid nightmare. It petrified all over, but just before its voice could scream outright from fright it suddenly found itself back in reality.

_Do not mistake me for your errand boy, flora, _The Warden warned, _or else you'll deeply regret it._

And with that, the Warden paid no more attention to the trees. He now took heed of the faint trail of blood left in the raichu's wake and followed its chaotic course. In a manner of time, he would come across the injured raichu. If needed, he would cast the large rodent into a deep sleep. Then, he would have the chance to solve the enigma that was the creature's thoughts and memories.

_I sincerely hope this raichu isn't a mere nutcase, _thought the Warden, _with any luck he might prove to be useful._


	14. Male Delusions

**Author's Note: **Uh, yeah…it's been awhile since the last time I updated this story. Hopefully there are still people out there holding interest. If not…oh well. I'm not doing this to earn a paycheck, after all. :P

As usual, don't hesitate to share your critique. I'll do my best to improve on my shortcomings. Priority one would have to be reducing the lull between these updates. For most of you it would be unacceptable, I'm sure.

_**Chapter 14**_

_Journal Entry for The Day of New Family:_

_So it has been done. A new member will enter the ranks of our bloodline. I cannot say whether I'm dismayed or thrilled, for my feelings are mixed on the matter. You see, it's like this: our new member of the family isn't popping out of the uterus of my mother, but instead he's being bought at the pet store. On top of that, he's not the average pet. I do not know what strings my sister pulled to get Dad to blow so much cash…he's, of all things, a pichu. Sigh… _

_Not know what that is? I'll tell you, my dear journal. A pichu is a rodent, bright yellow in color, drowned by Mother Nature in so much cuteness the very sight of one would make Satan cry. They're a lucrative item in the pet business, for their biological parents, pikachu, are rare, meaning that pichus are even rarer, which of course means that everyone wants one. God knows what those pet companies do to get their hands on enough Pichus to meet demands…_

_That sister of mine is determined to name him Sparky. I didn't want the poor rodent to endure the circles of hell that would devour him due to such an idiotic name, so I at once drove the point into my sister's thick skull that Charon would be a much better name, under the ruse that it would be "cooler." She, of course, gagged at the idea, called me a runt, and stuck her tongue at me. Ooooooh, that was **crossing the line!** I had no choice but to retort that she was being a selfish brat, to which she promptly responded by whacking me with a nearby couch pillow. Not one to take such abuse, I brandished my own pillow against her. Oh, the ferocity of that battle…it made the world wars look like a game of cowboys and Indians!_

_Dad brought that to an abrupt end, much to my dismay, by grabbing our noggins and head-butting them together. He clearly doesn't follow the rules of sibling war all that well, using such under-handed tactics! He made us compromise on the issue by placing all of our hopes on the single flip of a quarter later that night. I can't tell you how frustrating that is…not having the power to control your fate like that. It makes life feel like nothing more than some deity's fleeting game._

_By some stroke of luck I managed to win that coin toss. My sister fumed, while I walked away with content. Until that coin toss, I believe that she was under the impression that she could have Charon all to herself. She tends to be controlling like that, something that I will have to fight against in the future. Knowing her, she would pamper that rodent into a helpless blob of flesh whilst pulling his strings to do her every wish. I won't let such things happen._

_I'm looking into the field of pokemon training, for Charon's sake. As a pichu he wouldn't be able to do much, but if I don't lay the foundations for his strength and confidence in his youth I don't see how he's going to survive. He has to someday understand that we won't always be there for him…that, in the list of priorities of our family, he might one day be considered expendable. _

_I'll let you know how I progress with Charon, journal. Hopefully he won't be terribly stupid, for that would put my goal in jeopardy._

_

* * *

_

"Lily? Lily, keep your distance_. Achoo!_ I cannot have you catch this either."

Only a short amount of time passed since the maiden vulpix had collapsed. Calien, through valiant efforts, pulled her back to the conscious realm, away from the mental void of the comatose and brain-dead. With Calien inspiring as much energy as possible into them, the couple (with the fainted offspring in tow) trudged through the rain, the mud, and the dark, until the discovery of dead, fallen logs of fallen trees, lying upon a boulder in such a slant that it created a crude, tent-like space, gave them the bare shelter needed to escape the downpour. The water brought upon by the rain easily seeped into their space as well as the cold night air, thus Calien and Lily, lying side-by-side with the comatose Ivy in-between them, shivered as they continued to suffer the harsh punishment of nature.

Calien had fallen ill, his energy siphoned away to the point where he couldn't stand and his lungs and nose cursed with a chronic, pain-inducing sneeze. It was hard to tell if the cause was the horrible conditions of their shelter, their prolonged exposure to the rain, or simply because he experienced hell first-hand. Regardless of the source of the problem, the maiden vulpix could barely keep her composure, for the male vulpix distanced himself from Ivy and Lily, not intending to spread whatever sickness had ensnared him, but suffering alone in the rainy, night-time chill as a result. Lily knew that such an act would only worsen his health. Such unconditional behavior could cost him his life.

"Calien…please, I don't want you suffering like this," Lily said to her mate-to-be, as her ears wilted down in guilt and pity while she was observing the sickened Calien, "You need to stay warm if you're going to get any better. Come close to us."

"You act as if I have a choice," Calien remarked, his voice fragile yet deadly solemn, "Since we first layed eyes on Ivy I had nary a choice at all." He sneezed. "I have taken a back seat to that orphaned offspring that clings to you and I do not see that changing anytime soon." He sneezed again, more violently this time around. He stared to the ground, at once pained and angered by his weakening body.

"Don't be crazy like that!" Lily nearly wailed, "You know that I care for you, Calien. I didn't want to lose you when the zangoose attacked us and I don't want to lose you now. Please, you need our warmth if you want to get better!"

"You could get sick. Ivy could get sick. All three of us could wind up dead in the morning. If I was not meant to be your mate I want to at least ensure you live on to find someone who will be." He sneezed a few times in succession, the resulting pain hitting him hard. For a moment he bowed his head to the ground, gathering the energy to be able to talk again.

"Stop that! I won't hear any of it!" Lily snapped, pushing herself to her feet, Ivy's body slipping off in the process, "I'm not going to let you die, you hear me! I'm coming over there to keep you warm. If you don't like it, _too bad_!"

Calien would have snapped back at her to keep her distance, but he was never given the chance. Lily rapidly closed the space between them and pounced upon the male vulpix. Calien yelped in surprise as the maiden vulpix's weight slammed into his back, pinning his body to the ground.

"Lily…get off me!" Calien demanded, as he tried forcing Lily off of his back by pushing upwards with his legs.

"Not until you stop doing this to yourself!" Lily demanded in return, referring to how self-destructive the male vulpix suddenly became. She pressed down her body against Calien, fighting to stay upon him for the sake of his health.

"Go back to Ivy! She is the one you care about. I am just extra baggage to be dragged until I die. Why not hasten my bitter end so you can be done with me!"

"No, you have it all wrong!" Lily wailed, "It's not like that at all! Why won't you listen to me? I don't want to lose you. I want you as my mate!"

"Do you? DO YOU!" Calien exploded suddenly in a fit of rage. With bared teeth and a growl he turned upon Lily, his anger surging adrenaline into his ill-fallen body, tripping her off her feet and driving her back into the ground. The maiden vulpix froze in terror as Calien loomed threateningly over her, fire blazing in his eye while the repulsive gashes on his face flooded her senses with nausea.

"We had every opportunity to commit the act," Calien seethed, "The chances we had to conceive our offspring outnumber the stars of the sky. But you…you found an excuse to delay each time. First, it was just that you were not ready. Then it was because of the Arcanine. Now it is because you are sacrificing our lives for the sake of an orphan who is not even our own kind! The **reason** why we abandoned our comfortable lives, starved throughout the winter, and narrowly averted gruesome death was so that we could have our own litters in the first place!"

Calien leaned his head further down, forcing Lily to stare helplessly into the gaze of his gouged eye. "Look at what you have done to me, Lily! Does this face instill comfort in the minds of babes? On the contrary, it terrifies them, just as it terrifies you! Now if we ever mate, our kits would forever have to live with the fact that their father is a monster! And if they do not hate me for the shame that will loom over their heads, they will hate you for letting such a repulsive creature take your womb!"

At that moment, Lily could no longer withstand the torment. Calien's piercing words, his violent anger, the cold, the water, the orphan, and the grotesque sight of the violated eye…all these things cast her into a horrid spasm of illness. The maiden vulpix vomited what little there was in her stomach, the contents surging to the side as she turned her head to avoid choking. The action petrified Calien in shock as he realized all too late what he had just accomplished.

The maiden vulpix turned back to Calien, her muzzle stained by her vomit. She stared up to him, drained of energy, desperate, like an animal trapped in a barbed, filthy cage. "Calien," She struggled to say, her voice a whisper, "I'm sorry…please…forgive me."

From that point on, all Lily could do was weep. Calien, devastated by the actions he committed, crumbled to the ground, his body on top of hers. He knew of no words that could mend the mental wounds he inflicted. Instead he shared his own tears with her, not knowing when their horrible night would end.

* * *

_Journal Entry for The Day of Conspiracy:_

_Hello, Journal. It has been some time since I last filled your pages with the ink of my pen. Plenty has happened since then, but were I to indulge on every detail of past events I'll find myself too drained to get the newly acquired knowledge that gnaws my conscience out of my chest. You'll have to settle for a brief blurb instead of my aimless rambling for a change._

_Charon turned out to be a good pet. Very intelligent, easily housebroken, but a tad sensitive. Quickly grew fearful of brooms. His days would alternate between my sister's playtime hell, my training regimen, and the typical eat and sleep. He loved us both regardless. Developed a shared fondness for the pichu next door, which everyone found cute until the two of them evolved on his birthday. He was clearly saddened to be separated from her, most likely not understanding the reasons as to why her presence was forbidden. His training became an outlet for his frustration, which undoubtedly scared my parents shitless, which is the reason they berate me everyday for training him to begin with. That does not bother me, however, for Charon's strength with electricity has advanced so far it is nearly godlike._

_Ok, I think that's enough. Now to the heart of the matter._

_Never in the household has there been so much tension. They've told us what we've wanted to hear. "Charon won't be neutered! No, he won't lose his electric sacs either! Of course we'll keep the little fella, he's one of the family!" Despite all this, I cannot dismiss the apprehension in their tone whenever they're in the same room as him. My sister has taken their word for truth, but I wasn't born yesterday: Only a fool would doubt that they were plotting some way to get rid of the pikachu, most likely by quietly selling him off._

_Good god, the irony sickens me. My sister and I, in our own ways, worked so hard to make him strive for the best in life. So much confidence, so much passion…so much power. All it really accomplished was to make his monetary worth in the pet industry skyrocket. We made Charon even more expendable. We cursed him! _

_I wish there was some way I could help Charon escape from here, but what could I do? If I simply set him loose, animal control would catch him and throw him into the nearest pound. If I ran away with Charon to, god forbid, live as a full-time trainer, we would constantly be on the run without a moment of peace until the local authorities catch us and ship us right back home. And to end his life before he's trapped in some filthy hellhole is something I just can't do. I would sooner kill myself than lay a finger on him._

_There's only one course of action that I can take…I have to sabotage their plans. As Charon is now, he's the perfect pet: strong, healthy, and easy to train and tame. But I know of a way to shatter that image like a bullet through glass. I can turn him into a monster, a creature synonymous with a harbinger of death. He'll strike fear into man and beast alike, for they will know the destruction he can reap. Few will want to even touch him. Those who do can expect to meet their maker._

_All this, my dear journal, can be accomplished with merely a tiny stone…It is only a matter of obtaining it. Wish me luck. _


	15. Athan and Ida

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok then! Looks like I'm getting the hand of shortening the interval a tad. Unfortunately I'm not sure this writing is meeting expectations. I don't mind if you gush over the story, but if it can be improved somewhere, feel free to point it out.

Agh, I seem to be a broken record nowadays. D:

Chapter Fifteen

"Oh my, what a mess this raichu is!"

The Warden of the forest, not hindered much by such annoyances as heavy rain and darkness, discovered Charon's bleeding, unconscious body with adequate speed. No longer dealing with trees, the Warden found amusement in speaking with his actual voice for a change instead of the telepathic messaging he almost always had to do.

Although he is more than accustomed to the aftermath of violence upon creatures of flesh, it still surprised the forest's guardian that Charon, though having fainted from his wounds, still appeared to be drawing breath. Clearly the rodent is physically tougher than the usual woodland denizen, but then again that was common for any creature at the top of their genetic chain.

"You certainly made it easy for me to find you, rodent," remarked the Warden to Charon, "Unfortunately you probably overlooked the fact that your excessive bleeding's not going to help you stay alive. The fact that you're comatose at the moment probably already clued you in on that fact, heh-heh! Not to worry, though. Once I materialize I can give your wounds there a fixer-upper."

Just as he said, the Warden shed his invisibility, thus revealing his true form, hovering just above the ground. If some lucky mortal had happened upon the Warden, it probably would've bewildered him or her to learn that he, the spirit responsible for keeping all life in his domain safe from chaos and extinction, was in fact nothing more than a stout, red-eyed, wide-grinning, spiky-tailed, eggplant-colored poltergeist, better known to human and animal alike as a gengar.

"Pity. I probably won't get to see that look this time…I always love to see it when the other wildlife soil themselves," he says with glee, as he floated down to the wet earth to stand right next to Charon. "Bah! Already I tire of the rain. Being a specter for countless seasons have done nothing but spoil me rotten!"

The gengar held up his hands towards the canopy of the forest. "I suppose you guys don't mind if I snatch a dozen or so leaves from your branches, do you? Thanks!" He said in a casual manner. Soon afterwards, leaves from oak trees unfortunate enough to be nearby were plucked into the air, thanks to the invisible hands of his ghostly helpers. These leaves zipped through the rain, landing into the Warden's extended grasp.

_Ow! That hurt, you swine! _One of the trees complained, their stripped branches feeling quite tender.

_Don't be such a baby, _the Warden retorted. Moments later, the purple poltergeist took his leaves and applied them to the large wounds in Charon's shoulders. "Katar's claws went right through him," the Warden remarked, "Ouchie! Well, at least he didn't aim for your head or your gut. That definitely would've left little to work with."

The Warden, once finished, took a step back to take a look at his handiwork. "Not exactly state-of-the-art, but still one-hundred percent natural! Heh-heh!" He took a moment to stretch his back, an action more out of habit than necessity considering he technically had no flesh or bone at all. "Now I can _finally_ get a chance to dive into that mind of-."

"Forest Warden! Forest Warden!" cried a panicked voice from behind.

The gengar groaned in irritation. He turned around to find that it was one of his helpers, materialized in the shape of a floating, spherical, black head surrounded in purple mist (typically referred to as a Gastly.) It hovered in a severely jittery fashion, clearly desperate to blast out of the vicinity as fast as his fleshless form could take him.

"In case you can't tell, I'm rather busy here!" The gengar snapped, "What is it you want! Is it poachers? An epidemic? Wanton interspecies orgies? Speak!"

"The Mountain Warden's coming this way!" Cried the Gastly, "And she's on the warpath! The WARPATH! AAAAAAAAAH!" With his cry of fear he at once rocketed past the Warden, fading back into invisibility in order to escape.

The gengar's face quickly fell into a worrisome frown. "Oh, fudge," he muttered. Not too soon after that, he could feel the rapidly approaching soul cutting through his domain like a knife through juicy butter. He could feel his minions scattered about by the Mountain Warden's fury, for those unfortunate enough to be in her way were plowed right through, tumbling every which way in the sky. It didn't take long at all for the Mountain Warden to finally grace his presence, her upward gaze to him so razor-sharp it threatened to turn the Forest Warden into fresh, ghostly sushi.

The Mountain Warden was quite different from the Forest Warden. They shared their dark hues and ghostly essence, but while the gengar resembled an impish demon, The Mountain Warden more closely resembled a small (barely smaller than the raichu), abstract apparition, lacking limbs in general. The top of her head boasted voluminous, tapered waves, accentuated at the tips, bearing a resemblance to hair, while the bottom of her body fanned out as though it was a cloth suspended in the breeze. She also bore crimson spheres around her neck that resembled jewelry, while the Forest Warden possessed nothing of the sort, more closely resembling a small animal than she. Was there a mortal to see her, they would've identified her as a Misdreavus, not that they would want to stick around in light of the current situation. No doubt about it, this Misdreavus was _pissed._

"ATHAN! What on earth have you been doing all this time!" demanded the Mountain Warden, her shouting voice akin to a trumpeting elephant on a helium-puffing high.

Athan cringed. He would often wonder, at times like this, how the Misdreavus could shout at such a high pitch without turning blue. "Ida, you know we shouldn't be using our real names in public," The gengar reasoned in an attempt to cool the apparition's jets. That effort quickly proved to be futile.

"Do I LOOK like I give a rat's behind about who's listening right now, _forest warden?_" She shrieked, "I swear, I have no idea how they'd _ever _think you were their god, seeing the ever-so-_graceful_ way you handle things! I mean- AAACK!"

Ida phased out of existence for a brief moment to escape the large Gengar's attempt at a bear hug, who shot towards the Misdreavus so rapidly it looked a lot more like a pounce. When Athan stumbled as his arms grasped nothing but air, a pitiful frown drew across his face. "Awww, is that any way to treat me, babe? It's been soooooo long since the last time," He said, his façade of sadness barely covering the smugness in his tone.

The misdreavus reappeared hovering above the gengar, out of his reach, her dark hue tinted by the bright red of embarrassment. No one would have known she was blushing based on how she talked, however. "Athan, this isn't the time! I know you're just trying to distract me. It's not going to work!" She called down to the Forest Warden, her anger far from squelched.

The gengar's frown changed to one of irritation as he peered upwards to look at the Mountain Warden. "Could you at least TELL me what I seem to be doing wrong, toots? In case you haven't noticed, I have a raichu that I have to mentally examine." He pointed towards the unconscious raichu behind him. "He's not going to stay asleep for me forever, you know. It'd be such a pain to use hypnosis if your wonderful shrieking drives the life right back into him."

"You need someone to tell you how you're screwing up? Fine! We can play it that way!" Ida called back to him, the irritation mutually shared, as she cautiously floated back down to ground level. "First off, don't you remember what happened seven nights ago in the Chu herd? _Hmmmm?_"

"How could I forget? The Patriarch exiled the herd's Matriarch," Affirmed Athan, his arms resting akimbo, "Their sole daughter ran away soon after. That herd's been in shambles ever since, which is _why_ I'm trying to make use of this raichu here, you know." The last parts of his sentence were spoken in a somewhat patronizing matter.

"And did you think that offspring just magically disappeared off the face of the earth? Who do you think was the pichu traveling with those foreigners, a pet store reject!" Ida shrieked.

Athan hesitated. "It was a safe assumption," He mutters, looking away.

Ida scoffed at him. "Don't you know that we're supposed to be helping each other, Forest Warden? I may be the Mountain Warden officially, but my lofty perch lets me cast an eye on other domains."

"'My lofty perch lets me cast an eye on other domains,' Nyeeeh!" Athan mocked, imitating Ida's voice in a scathing manner.

"Let me finish, you child!" Ida snaps. Quarreling between the two of them was unfortunately a common occurrence. "I knew for a long time that there was a lone raichu on the other side of the mountain, but I couldn't do anything. The inhabitants hate leaving the mountainside and I don't have an army of minions like you do. But opportunity knocked once that pichu wandered to the mountain."

The Mountain Warden started to circle around the Forest Warden, twirling on occasion as the thoughts of her planning invoked a sense of glee. The gengar stared straight ahead, bubbling silently with agitation. "It was so perfect! I took the little cutie and helped her brave those rocks and inclines. I made her forget about me once she made it to the forest. Then I let the fates take care of the rest. And wouldn't you know it, that raichu found her, thought to the natural conclusion any male would do, and the rest is history!"

She stopped in place to glare right into the Warden's eyes. "At least it WOULD be, except YOU let that crazy zangoose attack them out of what, entertainment? Now that pichu is nearly back to square one, assuming those vulpixes are even still with her, and that raichu's psyche is probably all but shattered!"

For a moment, the two of them glared at each other. By now the two of them were soaked by the rain, dripping everywhere with water. The tension between them reached dizzying heights, for the two of them were on the brink of fighting each other. Each waited for the other to make their move, whether the assault was verbal or physical.

It was the Forest Warden who made the first move. "There's two reasons why I let that happen, Ida," he spoke with a low voice, "I wanted to be sure they had not only the strength, but also the will, to survive, especially that raichu. If he couldn't handle the zangoose, he would have been doomed to fail from the start. The second reason is…Katar, deep down, wanted someone to kill him. He wanted a way out. He had too much pride to turn his claws on himself.

"I know I can't prove that now, but I don't think we have the time to speculate on that. A much greater problem is growing in that chu herd and if I don't make use of this raichu to put a stop to it, this whole forest is doomed to collapse. So how about letting me do my job?"

Ida backed away. "It's my job, too, but someone has to be there to keep you in line." She sighed, "We took it on ourselves to better the lives of the living, Athan. We gave ourselves and the ghosts of these wilds a purpose. We can't jeopardize that by making mistakes."

Athan relaxed a bit, chuckling. "Ida, we're not gods…we're just pretending to be gods. We can always make up for whatever screw-up we do, though. You oughta loosen up. And I know just the thing for that, but unfortunately it must wait!" He quickly turned around. "I must take care of- GAAAAAAAH!"

Much to the Warden's dismay, the spot where Charon was supposed to be lying unconscious was now quite vacant. A small pool of blood and the flattened foliage were the only remaining evidence of his presence. There was no telling how far it may have gone. Understandably, the poor gengar was on the verge of having an aneurysm.

"Oh dear…it looks like he's been spirited away," Ida remarked sheepishly. "Er…oops?"

"OF ALL THE TIMES WE FIGHT YOU JUST HAD TO DO IT RIGHT NOW!" The Forest Warden cried, almost whining as he did so. He took in a deep breath and, with both hands to his mouth, blew a loud whistle. In moments his ghostly minions assembled around Ida and himself. They numbered in the several dozen.

"We are ready for your orders, Forest Warden!" stated the head minion.

"A raichu with impaled, wounded shoulders has to be found and brought to me," Commanded the Forest Warden. "Be on your guard, for he's most likely unstable and might fry you like he did that zangoose out of fright. Do not harm him, for he's already quite hurt. Use paralysis as a last resort!"

"Understood!" confirmed the head minion. In minutes the minions dissipated out of sight, intending to comb the forest grounds unseen. Once they were gone, Athan turned back to Ida.

"You have your own domain to look over," He told her, "I will go check on the offspring. I assure you, I will do everything in my power to solve this mess. If I need your assistance, I'll come to you myself."

Ida frowned. "You're right, Athan…it has been awhile since the last time. We shouldn't force ourselves apart like this."

"Our lack of numbers demand it," the gengar said sadly, "But we can always treat ourselves to a break, right?"

"Right," Ida acknowledged, "I'll go now. But I'll keep my eyes on you. You don't always ask for help when you need it."

The misdreavus faded away, traveling back to her mountain domain. The gengar was now alone, with no company save for the drenched trees. If there were any animals present, chances were likely that they were way too scared to make their presence known.

"It's time to get to business," he said to himself, as he finally phased out of sight.


	16. Botana

**Author's Note:** In this Chapter I attempted to make use of a character that happens to speak a foreign language. However, despite having old class notes, reference slips, the internet, and even a latin heritage that comprises half of my entire family, I'm quite certain that the few spanish sentences you see here are a horrible butchering of the language spoken by Spaniards, Mexicans, South Americans, and a good chunk of North Americans. To those people, studied linguists, and especially to my latina mother, I apologize if the amateur use of the language here moves you to tears. D:

Chapter 16

Dreams.

They are often believed to be memories and experiences that the subconscious seizes and smash together, most likely to remind living things that they still possess life when they lie like the dead. Nothing in a dream is real. They are normally random in nature and don't have any reason to follow any sort of structure at all.

Not everyone is so lucky. For the less fortunate, their dreams follow a certain, harrowing routine. The thought of sleep instills fear. The desperate ones do everything in their power to delay the inevitable, to prepare for what would come to them when they do, only to realize that they would never be prepared enough.

Charon, when he first came to the wild, was one of those cursed by the recurring nightmare. He would stand amidst the forest canopy and watch the activity of the nocturnal creatures, sometimes until the crack of dawn. When he succumbed to rest, he would writhe within the hour and abruptly awake in cold sweat. It repeated for weeks until he had accepted his life of solitude.

When he left his familiar woods to pursue the herd of pikachu, he felt anxiety over the fact that the harrowing dreams might swiftly return. Once, and then twice, he managed to endure the night without snapping awake. But when he lost consciousness in the midst of his emotional breakdown, his nightmare crashed down upon his comatose mind with almost deadly force.

First came the smell. The rancid odor tormented the raichu's nostrils, nauseating him, reminding him of excrement. Then came the cold touch of the lifeless ground beneath his feet, flat and hard as rock. A bright, unnatural glow filled his eyes, nearly blinding him from seeing the filthiness that surrounded him, but not nearly enough. He had to look away or else he would collapse and vomit as the memories of the time he was trapped there, in that small, depressing prison, rush back to him.

Out of the corner of his eye he spots another trapped with him. He turns to see who it is, only to have his stomach churn. Azelia was lying upon her side, her face contorted by suffering as she stared into empty space, whimpering. Cuts and bruises stood out amidst her sullied, yellow fur, its shine having long since disappeared. There were deep cuts, particularly, in her cheeks, closed by grotesque stitches. Her tail lied flat on the ground, as though she was already dead.

_Why is it I never see her the way she was? _Charon thought, recalling their idyllic time together when they were only offspring, back when Azelia beamed with joy, enjoyed his company, and giggled at his attempts to impress her.

Charon lowered himself to all fours, for he hated how he easily towered over her. He walks towards Azelia, hoping he could comfort her somehow. Azelia catches sight of him and begins to tremble, yet does not rise from her position to move away. What had happened to her shattered her confidence in resisting those who would abuse her.

_You always tremble when I approach, _Charon thought, as the distance closed between them, _You never remember me anymore. You thought the Charon you befriended had died and been replaced by a goddamn monster. I can't say that I blame you._

Charon stopped a few inches from her. Disgust overtook him, for even when he was on all fours he still dwarfed the little pikachu. He lowers himself even further, resting upon his stomach, his body outstretched and chilled by the cold ground. He looks face-to-face into Azelia's fearing expression.

"W-what are you doing?" The pikachu stammered, her voice weak and quivering.

"Admiring you," Charon responded, "I would embrace you, but you fear me and you're too fragile to touch."

The raichu could almost see the growing tension in her, in the way she grasped the ground. "You mean…you don't want to-?"

"I wouldn't think of such a thing. It just wouldn't be right."

Azelia's anxiety continues to linger. She had been deceived and betrayed many times by males who trapped her with kind words. In many cases they didn't even speak words. Charon sighs, pressing his forehead against the ground.

"I didn't choose to be this way, Azelia," Charon spoke, not looking at her anymore, "I'm not like the others. At least, I believe I'm not. I would do everything and anything to protect you and respect you. Even now I'm resisting the urge to indulge in your scent. So can you _please_ not be frightened of me anymore?"

Azelia doesn't answer. Instead, she starts to whimper. An ominous feeling grows within Charon's instincts as he realizes they're no longer alone. He wastes no time to rise back to his feet, but as soon as he does so a heavy force slams against the back of his head. He staggers and cries out as the concussion rattles his noggin. Stumbling to Azelia's side, he whips around to face the unseen hostile, only to be faced with a swarm. The blow to his head distorted his vision, causing their bodies to morph into ambiguous shapes, but he knew that they were surrounded by raichus and other creatures of large stature. By the lingering musk that added to the rancid stench of the sterile prison, he knew all too well that they were all male.

"Damn cowards!" Charon cursed them, trying to steady himself. He could barely see where he was going and the throbbing seemed strong enough to pump the brain out of his very skull. He hears Azelia cry out. He turns to see the distorted shapes trying to grab her. She tries to scurry away, her only viable defenses having long been stolen from her, but it is futile, for the villains surrounded Charon and the Pikachu at every turn.

"Get away from her!" Charon tries to shout, but in mid-sentence he is tackled and pinned by the ambiguous shapes, booming with the hormone-fueled cries of male domination. The weight upon his frame is tremendous, but Charon resists with every ounce of might…that is, until the pummeling starts. The mob violently bashes his head, driving his percussion to a deadly intensity. The shapes of the bloodthirsty males distort even further, resembling sinister demons. Amidst the shouts, the hollers, and the bellowing of the swarm, he hears Azelia starting to cry. He knew what was happening to her. He realized he was about to fail her.

It was then that he snapped.

Sensitivities were discarded. Reason was obliterated. All the thoughts in Charon's mind narrowed to a simple, instinctive plan: _He had to kill them all._

It was at that point in the nightmare that he always awoke.

* * *

The raichu snapped awake, his fur moist with cold sweat and his heart beating rapidly. Deep, but short breaths worked his lungs that calmed as he realized that he was no longer in the midst of his nightmare. He groaned softly, however, as the wounds in his shoulders still throbbed with tenderness, irritated somewhat by the grain rubbing against his back.

Taking a moment to recall the last things he could remember, he cursed himself silently. "That was damn stupid of me," He muttered to no one in particular, for as far as he could tell he was completely alone, "I thought I had gotten over that by now." He carefully placed his forepaws on his forehead, not wanting to strain his wounds. "I didn't have a choice in the matter. I did what had to be done. They should still be alive, at least, unless the entire damn forest cursed us." He repeated this in his mind several times, so that eventually he would actually believe it. In truth he couldn't be sure of anything, except that he screwed himself over big time.

As his eyes became more accustomed to the dark, he soon began to realize that a few important details were missing from his senses. For one, there didn't appear to be a sky in his upward gaze, for he only saw blackness whichever way he looked. Second, the usual forest ambiance seemed nearly nonexistent, muffled perhaps by soil. Third, the smell of the dripping dew from the night's showers did not exist, for in its place was an amazingly strong scent that reminded him of garden flowers. And lastly, inexplicitly, it came to his realization that a weight was resting upon his body…a weight that he swore was breathing and emitting warmth.

Charon felt the anxiety creeping into him. "Did I…_miss_ something that night? I don't remember these things at all."

The raichu nervously reached forward with one of his paws, half-expecting to feel a mass of fur and a fan of fluffy tails, as well as the groans of a familiar voice that ought to be several feet away from him. What he felt instead was something – or rather, someone – whose hide was smooth, soft, and a tad squishy, as though he was stroking the surface of a giant grape. He could even feel the presence of a leaf as large as his head. Needless to say, this shot even more anxiety into him. When the mystery object murmured with a soft, feminine tone, its breath blowing right against his face, he downright petrified.

"Oooooh," The voice cooed, very much in an arousing fashion, "Please don't stop, _este muy bieeeen_." In return, it was starting to massage his chest, to which Charon reacted by nearly having an aneurysm.

_What the hell is going on! _Charon cried in his mind, as his other paw suddenly dug into the ground below him, his grasp so tight that any bugs caught in the soil would've been mercilessly crushed to death. No longer could he go on clueless in the surrounding dark. He _had_ to know, even if the truth would kill him. In pursuit of such suicidal tendencies he slightly charged the electric pouches stored in his cheeks and suspended the energy inside of them. The resulting glow of his face illuminated his surroundings, thus revealing to him a few interesting facts: he lied in a small, burrowed den, the light from outside was snuffed out by leaves stuffed tightly inside the sole tunnel leading out of the den, and at the present moment there was a female chikorita half asleep upon him, its leaf rubbing against the ceiling. She was either quite delusional or deliberately seeking to become familiar with him in ways that chilled his very spine.

Chikoritas are easy to envision. If one was to take a green pear about the size of a housecat, slap a nose-less face with colossal dinner-plate eyes on the smaller end, stick four stubby legs and an equally stubby tail on the larger end, then endow that oddly constructed pear with dark-green bumps around the "neck" and a leaf protruding from the head that radiated with the most pleasure-inducing, natural scent in the known universe, one would have a creature created by a deity who recently spiked on hallucinogens. It still happens to be a chikorita, however.

"What're you –Ugh!" Charon, in mid-sentence, tried to lift his back in an effort to rise to his feet. The Chikorita, apparently, intended to keep him on the ground, for she forced him back with a sudden push to the chest. The raichu stared back at her with the sort of surprise reserved for heterosexual men who realize they stumbled into a gay bar.

"Who are you and _what are you doing to me?_" Charon asked the little plant creature, not bothering to hide his growing urge to run like hell.

The chikorita grinned, peering into his gaze seductively. "_Me llamo Botana, mi roedor guapo. Yo te rescaté_. _Como te llamas?"_

Charon's face drew a blank stare. "What?"

Botana frowned, at once irritated and dissapointed. She visibly struggled to rephrase the words coming out of her mouth. "I…call myself Botana. What…what…do you call yourself!" She forced the words out of her mouth as though they were barbs to her tongue.

"Charon. It's Charon," The raichu answered anxiously, "Can you move off of me? Please?"

Botana hesitated, the words escaping her. "No. I am alone," She says desperately, pressing against Charon, "_Te quiero tener mi cuerpo y darme muchos bebés!"_

The raichu shook his head as his heart began to race, "I have no damn clue what you're saying! Look, I really can't stay, I have to go find my-!"

Botana was having none of it. "_Dios mio, _I want you to bone me for babies! _Por favoooooor!_"

At that moment, Charon immediately spazzed. Encountering another "broken" who wanted to jump into his pants, so to speak, was one of the worst things he could think of.

"Oh no, no, shit no! I can't do that! You're a damn PLANT! Dammit, I gotta get out of here!"

Charon scrambled to push the Chikorita aside, plow though the leaves blocking the exit, and scurry like mad away from the desperate female, hoping to run across his company in the process. Botana put up quite a fight blocking his path, though, since the tiny space of the den forced the two close together no matter which way Charon squirmed. Botana thus had an easy time counter-squirming him, especially since the scent of the leaf, for the Chikorita at least, was acting like an aphrodisiac. It drove her iron will to be boned by the raichu to legendary proportions.

"_Te queda conmigo, Charon! Te quiero! Te necesito!" _Botana cried to him.

"What part of 'I can't do that' don't you understand! I could mate with you a billion times and you still wouldn't have offspring!" Charon yelled at her. Desperate to get out, he tackles Botana, hoping the force will break through the barrier behind her and allow him to get out of this newfound, personal hell. This impromptu plan, unfortunately, quickly turns awry. It became apparent to both of them that the entrance of her den, carved out of the earth, was never intended for a rapid exit. Rather than embrace freedom, Charon plowed through the barrier of leaves only to be promptly corked by the hole. Both Botana's and Charon's bodies poked halfway out of the den, exposing their heads to the open, morning air, and on top of that – much to the raichu's despair – they were sandwiched together, chest-to-chest, with Charon right on top of the plant anomaly.

"Shit!" Charon cursed. He pushes up against the top of the hole, more desperate than ever to elude the apparent lust of Botana. He chips at the earth pinning him down. The chikorita, overwhelmed by the sudden sandwich, found it impossible to speak. The conflicting emotions and sensations in her mind and body confused her. Staring up at the raichu as he struggles to get free, she comes to realize what she nearly committed. The thought of kidnapping a random, convenient male, not even of her own species, just to relieve herself of her own loneliness came across to her not only as mad, but also downright depressing. In face of this retrospect, her lust soundly obliterated itself, replaced by the sudden urge to bawl like an actress on a soap opera.

Charon petrifies once again. To put it bluntly, he now had no idea what exactly was going on anymore. Anyone whose mood swung like a drunken pendulum hung by thread tended to have more than a few screws loose, but regardless he couldn't ignore the sight of crying no matter how insane the creature may be. Forgetting for a moment the suggestiveness of his position as well as the frantic escape attempt that resulted from it, Charon attempts the diplomatic approach on the chikorita, if only to get her to quiet down.

"Hey, um…you really shouldn't take it personally," Charon says nervously to the sobbing Botana, trying to choose his words carefully so as to not dig a deeper hole for himself, "It just wouldn't work out the way you want it to, you know? I mean, I'm glad you saved me, don't get me wrong, but I'm a mammal and you're…um, I'm not really sure what you are, technically, but it's not quite what I am, so the chances of us having offspring are nil…you know?"

Botana responded by wailing even louder. Charon bit his lip, now speculating he was much better off keeping his goddamn mouth shut. Still, he didn't have the heart to leave the chikorita as an emotional wreck. In a way they shared similar woes, but Charon doubted Botana even had the hope of seeing another of her kind. But he had to do _something, _and quickly, before the trail of his companions is lost to him.

Charon gives her a few more moments to cry. As she does so, he calmly chips away at the hole again. Softened from the rainfall of the past night, it takes just a minute or two to widen the hole enough for Charon to lift his body comfortably off of Botana. Backing up a few feet, he then softly pushes the chikorita out of her den, who was so depressed she lacked the mental focus to even move. Moments later the two of them finally took in the morning atmosphere of the forest in full, revealing to the raichu its peaceful demeanor for a change. Charon stood on all fours, so as to speak face-to-face to the lying female beside him, who by now started to quiet down a tad. A chill runs through him as a few elements of the scene evokes déjà vu.

"I'm not from around these parts, Botana," Charon says to him, "I left my home a few days before to seek out exactly what you're looking for. While I can't give you what you want, maybe if you travel with me you'll find that someone. What do you say?"

Botana looked up to him, her eyes watery from the shedding of tears. "I never moved far from home…_los fantasmas me dan miedo._"

Charon sighed. "I really don't know what you're-." He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, for suddenly the chikorita's eyes grew wide in fright, her mouth gaping open.

"_Están aquí! Están aquí! Están aquí!" _cried Botana, pointing behind the raichu.

Charon turned just in time to see what looked like a big ball of smoke sticking out a large tongue, charging forward to lick the raichu right in the kisser. With a cry of surprise, Charon dove to the side, rising to stand on his hindlegs as the tongue rushed past him. The ball of smoke hit the chikorita dead-on, who cried out as the tongue lashed against her body.

"What the hell!" Charon yelled. There was no time to speculate what that thing was doing, but it was clearly something hostile. Without hesitation he blasts a stream of electricity at the monstrosity, his cheeks already charged due to the tension with Botana earlier. "Yiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi!" The monster cries, rattled by the electricity as though shot by a taser. As soon as Charon stops the discharge, the smoke-like creature withers, floating to the ground like a dropped piece of paper before apparently phasing out of existence. Charon's moment to relax, however, quickly escapes from him when he hears a harrowing voice.

"Oy! I thought that rodent was injured! You think you're a real hot-shot, don't you? Just wait until I get my buddies. They'll show you a thing or two about poltergeists! You hear me! You're going to pay!" The voice fades off with those last words, leaving Charon more than a tad frightened.

"That must've been one of the 'fantasmas' she was talking about," Charon whispered to himself, biting his lip in anxiety, "And I thought the zangoose was bad." It quickly came to him that he lacked the luxury of time to ponder. The poltergeists would soon come in force to do whatever it was they wanted to him. He had a hard time imagining it would be anything pleasant. With such beings around, it convinced him more than ever that he had to find his companions, before the "fantasmas" find them first.

First, however, he had to check on the chikorita. He at once rushed to her, but he then noticed that Botana no longer moved as much as she would. Being an electric pokemon, he knew all too well the symptoms of temporary paralysis. He cursed under his breath.

"Botana, can you hear me? It's not safe here anymore," Charon said to her, as he started to lift her up, placing her firmly on his back, "I have friends lost out there in the woods who might be in the same danger as we are. If we find them, we might have a fighting chance against these 'fantasmas' of yours. After that we'll find some sanctuary."

Botana is unable to respond, her paralysis so severe she could barely even breathe. Charon knows this, but after what happened the last night he has tried all he could to suppress his weaker emotions. _I'd rather die right now than screw up again, _he thought, as he sniffed the air, hoping for some trail of a scent. Moments later, he catches the scent of someone familiar. He is not certain, but it reminds him of the scent of the offspring, Ivy, yet at the same time there seemed to be something different about it. Then, he realized: Ivy might be all by herself again. Her scent usually mingled with that of the vulpixes', but no such accentuation filled his nose. If that is the case, what happened to Calien and Lily?

No more time remained to think about such things, however. Charon sped off in the direction of the offspring's scent, the paralyzed chikorita in tow, doing his best to ignore the pain in his shoulders. He hoped to at least reach Ivy before the ghosts showed their faces again, wielding their waggling tongues paralyze his own body.


	17. Conflicts With The Restless Dead

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the long delay. After the turbulent finals session was over and done with, I used my vacation time to get a chapter ready in time for Christmas (at least in my time zone. :P ) Hope you guys like the "present." :D And if you don't, at least tell me where it could be improved. D:

P.S. Fixed the typo as pointed out by CrystalRyu. Thanks. I'd like to pretend that it was meant to be a sudden plot device, but I lack the suaveness to cover up such mistakes. :P

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

_What the hell are you doing, you idiot! I thought I told you to use paralysis as a last resort!_

_Hey, it's not my fault! That chikorita was there. You know how much of a fuss that crazy pear puts up whenever she spots us! I had no choice!_

_Don't you remember ANYTHING I've taught you? You, as well as any of my minions, are supposed to wait until the target is alone. You're not even supposed to reveal yourself to a mortal's eyes unless strictly necessary! Now look what you've done: now the raichu is running for his life to who knows where. You've screwed up the plan! You've pulled one hell of a boner! Cripes!_

…_A boner?_

_You know what I mean! Now we have no choice but to subdue him the hard way. Join up with the others, track down that rodent, and remind your group leader to use ONLY paralysis! He'll be no good to us if you morons shatter his mind or cripple his body! However…don't you guys forget to try some diplomacy first this time, ok?_

_As you wish, Forest Warden._

_

* * *

_

The woods seem to go on and on infinitely to the raichu, as he continued to scurry through the multitude of trees and shrubs. The ground beneath him proved wet and squishy beneath his heavy steps, threatening to topple him over with the slightest error in balance- quite difficult to avoid considering the paralyzed chikorita Charon carried on his back. Combine that with the sensitive wounds of his shoulders, little knowledge of the landscape, and the looming danger of the unseen ghosts that seem poised for an ambush, and one would find it hard to imagine that the Raichu enjoyed himself. No, in fact his state of mind was quite miserable.

"Hey! Botana, can you move yet?" Charon asked in mid-stride, trying to stay on as level ground as possible, "I don't know how long I can keep this up."

Botana didn't respond, still trapped in the severe paralysis the gastly – or was it the raichu? - had inflicted on her a short while ago. She could only manage to keep a steady rate of breath.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Charon said in annoyance. "Where the hell did that scent go? I could've sworn I was right on track." He started to slow down to a walking pace, catching his breath before sniffing the air once more. Despite the danger that the ghosts may be waiting for him to stop, without any lead to follow Charon might as well be running in circles.

"I'm getting nothing. Wonderful. I'm lost in the woods without a soul to help me," He seethed. Despite having no lead anymore, he nevertheless pressed onward in case a ghost happened to appear again.

By now, the raichu doubted that he would find his companions again anytime soon. Now he just wanted to find SOMEONE that could help him gather his bearings and get on the right track, even if not directly. The reputation of his species, he knew, would scare away most woodland creatures, so for now he had to lay low and quietly observe the activity of the local wildlife, assuming he could actually find any life to begin with. He sardonically speculated that perhaps the violent light show from yesterday sparked an impromptu migration.

Any plan to seek out the local wildlife got shot out of the window, however, when a ghost popped out of nowhere right in front of him. "Stop in your tracks, raichu!" commanded the gaseous entity.

"Gaaah!" cried Charon in fright, at once involuntarily throwing Botana off his back as he recoiled into a defensive fighting stance. The chikorita made an unintelligible sound of protest as she fell upon her own back, the air forced out of her lungs. "What the hell is your problem? Are you trying to kill me? I'm not done with my life yet. Back off!" Charon barked.

"The Forest Warden wishes to peer into your mind to determine your motive and character, foreigner," replied the ghost solemnly, "It is not your life we want. There's no need to flee from us."

Charon could tell, despite the near-identical features of this apparition to the first, that this ghost was not the same that so rashly tried to ambush him. However, that gave him no reason to trust this ghost any more than the last. He replied to the specter in a loud, defiant voice, staring down the ghost through its translucent, undead eyes.

"Tell your 'forest warden' I'm only here to seek a mate. That is my motive! Tell your 'forest warden' that I act on my own will, not the commands of a stranger. That is my character! And you can also tell your 'forest warden' that I don't trust you damn ghosts one damn bit, not after what your buddy did to Botana!" He pointed accusingly at the poltergeist before him. "Now get the hell out of my way!"

"Foreigner, you don't have a say in the matter," answered the ghost, "If don't comply with the forest warden's wishes, we will take you to him by force."

The raichu's eyes narrowed. His glare was so sharp it could almost kill. "I am not afraid of you."

The gastly copied the hostile gaze. "Whether or not you're afraid of us is irrelevant, but if you're so eager to be subdued my companions and I will be more than happy to oblige."

As the ghost spoke, the raichu slowly began to realize that he had already made a grave mistake. Their exchange of words merely served to keep him in place so that the swarm of gastlies that appeared before his eyes had no trouble surrounding him. The forest almost disappeared from Charon's vision, replaced by a tall, cylindrical wall of purple poltergeists eager to collapse upon the rodent in the center.

"Grunts, do not neglect your brain and make the mistake of attacking one at a time," commanded the head gastly in the swarm, the one who was talking to charon, "Charge all at-!"

"WAUGH!" A ghost yelled as Charon, not intending to be such easy prey, dashed right through it like a bullet piercing air. The swarm of ghosts seemed intimidating, but it was a safe to assume that a ghostly swarm lacked solidity. Now he had a few seconds to take action. Unfortunately, he almost stopped to slap his head when he realized he left Botana dead-center in the midst of the poltergeists.

"Pursue him! He must not escape!" cried the head ghost, before the mob shot after Charon like a school of piranha fish. The raichu at once sprinted away from the incoming threat, shooting through the woods at a breakneck pace. He had only a moment to look back at the solitary chikorita, lying on her side and undoubtedly feeling abandoned and helpless, before his vision filled with the purple hue of his pursuers. It would sicken him were it not for the adrenaline rush that barely kept him out of the ghosts' grasp. The fact that he led the swarm away from the helpless chikorita, thus saving her from being trapped in her living nightmare, proved to be little comfort.

"You can't run forever, foreigner! Give up!" cried the head ghost. "You're only delaying the inevitable!"

_Botana won't be able to move anytime soon…she won't last long if I don't shake off these ghosts and get back to her, _Charon thought, his vision focused on the woods before him as he practically flew through the woodland scenery, not even realizing he was ripping open his shoulder wounds anew in the process. _A typical shock won't work on a group this huge. I'll have to do something more risky…_

While the raichu ran, he concentrated the remaining energy in his body into the electric sacs in his cheeks. They started to cackle with small, electric sparks, like small Tesla coils charged to the peak of their power. Soon, however, the sparks began to grow ominously in size. Charon clenched his teeth together, now starting to wheeze through his teeth, as a pain far greater than his impaled shoulders threatened to stop him dead in his tracks.

"Heads up, grunts, he's preparing to attack!" warned the head ghost, "There'll be an opening once he discharges. Take it without hesitation!"

_You think you're so damn smart, _Charon remarked in his mind, as his stride began to stagger. Charon's electric sacs throbbed in spasms. No longer able to run, the raichu stumbled to a halt before standing straight and tall on his thick, strong legs. He lifted the jagged end of his long tail high above the ground, straight as an arrow. A moment later, what once was merely sparks escaped from his cheeks and swarmed around his body as arcs of lightning, multiplying rapidly as they scattered all around the rodent's flesh like excited maggots feasting on the dead. It bathed the surrounding woods in a white light that invaded every crevice of the nearby woods, banishing the shade of the flora.

None of the grunts or the head gastly had ever seen such a sight. It was as though the very skin of the rodent transformed into pure electricity, jumping frantically about in a futile attempt to escape from its host into the air. Out of instinct the mob of purple poltergeists started to float cautiously around Charon, predators circling a highly dangerous prey. They muttered amongst themselves, trying to deduct what the raichu was attempting to do, hesitant to charge in to attack in light of his deadly aura. Had Charon not required so much concentration for his technique, he would have taunted them for their hesitation. In his current state, he could only glare into their ethereal eyes as the enamel of his teeth grinded together, his only relief from the electricity surging through him that seemed to be eating him alive.

"What should we do, sir?" one of the grunts asked the head ghastly, "That's one hell of a charge and he hasn't even released it! Just touching him now would do any of us in!"

"Sir, we could shoot him with a shadow ball," suggested another grunt, "He's clearly past his threshold. The blast would make him falter and disperse that charge. He'd likely have no strength left to run after that."

The head gastly didn't like that suggestion one bit. "You forget, Ether, that the Forest Warden has ordered for paralysis only. He doesn't want a hair harmed on that rodent's head. Like it or not, his word is absolute, lest you want waking nightmares until the next moon.

"Say that we do shoot a shadow ball at him: We don't know how well he'd take the shot. He might just slip into a coma and let that charge quietly fade, or all that pent up electricity could literally explode out of him and kill that rodent in the process. Even if that doesn't fry him into a crisp, the collateral damage could be devastating!"

Charon could barely hear the chatter of the ghosts. His senses almost totally isolated from the outside world, his mind focused purely on the suspension of the tremendous charge flowing dangerously through his body. The raichu could only wait and see what the ghosts would do. He hoped they would give up their chase so he could return to the chikorita, who by now could be attracting ominous attention.

"He is certainly desperate," continued the head gastly, "if not insane. Honestly, if Alucard hadn't missed and paralyzed the chikorita we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Hey, you saw how fast that rat was! Not my fault!" cried that particular grunt in his defense.

"You were too reckless, nevermind clumsy!" snapped the head gastly, "We had a chance while he was unaware of us; now we're trapped in this stalemate!"

_Such incompetent fools!_

The unexpected boom of an ancient chorus of sylvan voices froze the gastlies in their tracks. They looked up to see the branches of the towering trees swaying violently in the morning air. No wind rode on the skies to cause such motions. The very forest around Charon seemed to come to life in unadulterated fury, as tree-dwellers, hiding in the trunks and branches to escape the ghostly swarm and the raichu, fled from the scene in droves in a last-ditch attempt to preserve their lives.

_How can you let this demon creature terrorize this land!_ _You saw how he abandons the helpless! You see now his disregard for the lives of others! All the demon knows is destruction! He will throw this land into Armageddon! The humans will sweep in like vultures and make spoils of us! All we strive to preserve will be forever lost! _

Were it not for the warning of the forest warden, those trees would've crushed Charon with their own bark. They continued their tirade: _Don't you see your leader has a hopeless cause? One herd is not worth risking the fate of all these woods! Kill the demon before it is too late! Kill him! Kill him!_

The spectacle of chaos filled Charon with barbed thoughts that wrapped around his mind, mercilessly gutting it. It killed the glare in his eyes. Their dark, opaque hue glistened as the thoughts threatened to break his concentration and guarantee his demise.

_You're a monster, Charon._

_The world around you knows this, Charon._

_Its very maw is opening to swallow you, Charon._

_Can you fight it, Charon?_

_Do you want to fight it, Charon?_

_Do you still believe you can atone, Charon?_

_You should've taken her when you had the chance, Charon._

_But you couldn't, Charon._

_You wanted to suppress the monster in you, Charon._

_So much for posterity, Charon._

_You just seem destined for death._

Charon staggered as the electric flow began to lose stability. The trees shook even harder in their fervor. The swarm of ghosts retreated some distance as tremendous arcs of lightning shot out of the rodent, indiscriminate of whatever it struck before disappearing into the ground. His cheeks, close to nearly bursting, shot spikes of electrical power that ravaged his nerves, flesh, and bone, doing everything in its power to rid itself of its own tremendous energy. He cried out through clenched teeth, almost ripping his ears right off his head in the iron grip of his trembling hands, as he endured the terrible onslaught of his own power betraying him.

"He's losing it!" cried one of the grunts, "At this rate he'll kill himself!"

"What do we do, sir?" cried another, as the grunts began to panic in face of the faltering aura that threatened to explode and devastate the woods.

The head gastly was at a loss. He wasn't sure they could do anything by the book anymore. Charon's only hope of survival remained in discharging the pent-up energy through his tail into the ground, but in his current state the head gastly wasn't even sure the raichu could even think straight to do that. The rodent had purposely made sure not to let the tail touch the ground in order to prolong the overcharge. Now that raichu writhed and struggled to keep standing as he, as surmised from the gastly's point of view, deliberately tortured his own body. Such a state of mind was beyond reason.

"We have no choice, then," whispered the head gastly, his tone deep and solemn. He turned to his subordinates, speaking to them in a loud, clear voice. "Grunts, we have no time, so clean out your ears and listen! Very soon I will give you the opening you need. When that time comes, paralyze him without hesitation. Until that moment, however, keep your distance."

"Sir…what are you going to do?" asked one of the grunts hesitantly.

The head gastly paused, as he searched for the right words to tell them. "Let's just say I'll be gone for awhile."

For a split second, the head ghastly could see in the eyes of his subordinates the roar of protest about to burst out of them. He knew better than to stick around for their pleas; emotional baggage would only make the task harder. At once he flew from the swarm. The bright glow of Charon's volatile energy nearly blinded him as he rushed towards the raichu and his deadly aura. The sound of Charon's suffering drowned out the cries of the grunts in the head gastly's ears as he touched his gaseous, spherical body to the large rodent's electrified flesh. The eyes of the two met together as the gastly, bound to Charon by electric current, now took the full brunt of the raichu's own electrocution.

Charon, the torment suddenly usurped from him, stared in horror as the gastly's vaporous body violently rattled in its spasms. He could see the arcs of lightning fanning out dramatically from behind, escaping to the earth. The ethereal eyes of the ghost froze in a widened glare, the ruthless electricity threatening to tear him apart from the inside.

_What the hell is going on! This wasn't supposed to happen! _Charon cried in his mind. _You idiot! You goddamn idiot! You were safe if you stayed away from me! Why didn't you just leave me alone!_

The glow of the immense charge disappeared. The lightning withered and eventually died. Once every sign of Charon's electricity ceased to exist, the gastly silently fell to the earth, his expression of hatred cast in stone. His gaseous body's purple hue faded, leaving behind a spirit trapped in deep sleep, unlikely to roam the woods again for generations to come. To the swarm of gastlys struck dumb by the sacrifice of their superior, he might as well have died.

"No! Not again! I won't have another death to my name!" Charon yelled despairingly, rushing towards the gastly. He ends up passing through, however, tripping on his feet to fall face-first into the ground. The ghostly swarm, wailing, at once smothered the raichu. The rodent felt the paralyzing touch of their tongues seize the senses of his body from him. Drained of whatever energy he had left to resist, the rodent's conscious soon faded outright, escaping into the realm of the comatose.

_You just seem destined for death…_

_

* * *

_

"That…that brightness, out in the distance…"

"His penchant for violence has not wavered, it seems."

"Calien! We don't even know if that's Charon or not!"

"Lily, I know neither of us had seen many creatures who wield electricity in the past, but Charon might as well be made of it. It does not help that he is quick to anger, either. I doubt being alone and lost mitigates his fuse."

The vulpix couple, after the drama of the previous night, had eventually fallen asleep in a close embrace once they lost the energy to shed their tears. They awoke to discover Ivy, the pichu, sleeping alone in the mud. After panicking and rushing to ensure the offspring hadn't died overnight, the three of them eventually gathered their bearings and pressed onward, the two foxes walking in stride as Ivy rode upon Lily's back, the three of them stained by remnants of the mud that had caked against their legs. The maiden fox and her mate-to-be mutually decided to set aside their troubles until the task of saving Ivy, at least, is accomplished, for Calien understood, despite his frustrations and sacrifices and growing cynicism, that Lily's maternal instincts proved too strong to outright ignore.

Their first task, however, was tracking down the missing raichu. Lily, in particular, feared for his well-being, seeming so traumatized by killing the zangoose. She wanted to seek him out, ease his emotional strife, and tell him that, for better or worse, the raichu had what it took to be a guardian. Her gratitude to the rodent for saving all of their lives, she felt, would help Charon get back on track. Calien, however, harbored speculations that Charon's issues might run deeper than confronting the act of killing in defense, though we wasn't quite sure what exactly those issues could be. He chalked this up to petty jealousy, however, and voiced no complaints when Lily took the lead in the search. They had both paused, however, and watched with trepidation the bright light that had arose in the distance, joined by the violent shaking of the distant trees and a chaotic disturbance of the morning ambiance, fading almost as soon as it appeared. After their brief exchange of words, the offspring clutched upon Lily's ears.

"Do we have to go back to him?" Ivy spoke meekly, her gaze turned away from the direction where the bright light had shined.

"Ivy," Lily said soothingly, "I know he can be very scary, but he's one of your kind. He wants to find family for you-"

"But mommy's gone," Ivy interrupted, pouting, "And I hate my daddy. I don't want a family. I just want you."

The maiden vulpix sighed. "I know you do. I don't want to let you go, but it's for the best. Calien and I have to make a family of our own someday, and we wouldn't want you to feel like the black sheep."

"But…but I'm not black. I'm yellow!" Ivy rebutted, unfamiliar with the expression Lily used.

Calien peered over to the pichu from a side glance, careful not to show his scar. "Would it make you feel any better if you knew Charon would most likely confront your father? If indeed he remains the head of your herd, and he is as terrible as you say, your father would see Charon as a threat to his power. They will probably fight for dominance, whether Charon wants to or not."

"Calien, don't talk to her about such things!" Lily interjected sternly.

The male vulpix frowned. "She has a right to know, no matter how gruesome the outcome may be. I thought it would be a glimmer of hope for her."

Ivy's trembling suggested otherwise. The thought of Charon usurping the rights of the patriarch from her father seemed akin to exchanging one poison for another. Calien, upon taking note of this, bowed his head and sighed. "Young one, you should realize that, despite his flaws, Charon's intentions are benevolent. I'm not even sure he would keep the right of the patriarch; but if I was in his position, it would be quite tempting. At the very least it would make acquiring a mate a great deal easier, I believe."

"That's enough, Calien," Lily again interjected, though not as harsh this time around, "We shouldn't make Ivy worry about it. It is stress she doesn't need. Besides," At this point she glanced away from Calien, feeling guilty for wishful thinking, "If luck's on our side, we might find her mother." The mention of the possibility eased the offspring's anxiety somewhat, ceasing her trembling, but she still held tightly to Lily's back.

Calien took a few steps forward, scanning the direction in which the bright light had shined. "Luck nearly abandoned us yesterday, Lily. It is better not to get our hopes up."

Suddenly, a frantic voice cried out from the wilderness. _"Ayúdeme! Ayúdeme!"_

The unfamiliar tone of the voice tensed the offspring, clamping firmly upon the maiden vulpix. Calien and Lily, upon hearing the foreign tongue, shot their gaze deep into the direction from which it came.

"Was that a call for help?" Lily questioned, the muscles in her legs preparing to move her rapidly to the call.

"I know not the tongue, but the despair in that voice is unmistakable." Calien replied.

Ivy suddenly pointed ahead of them. "Someone's coming!"

Indeed, a creature rapidly approached them, a green blur relentlessly cutting a path through the shrubbery standing in its way. It continued to cry _"Ayúdeme" _until it suddenly stopped right before the vulpix couple and the pichu, revealing the green blur to be a chikorita, who had brandished her large leaf like a machete in order to pierce through the flora that had threatened to trip her step. Lily, Calien, and Ivy had never seen a chikorita before. They unanimously felt the urge to retreat when a crazed pear with eyes the size of dinner plates stared at them, panting, as though they were a divine gift of the heavens sent to bring her salvation.

"Um…can we help you?" Lily meekly offered, afraid that the pear-esque quadruped had an even greater level of psychosis than the zangoose.

A crestfallen frown suddenly invaded the chikorita's hopeful glance, only to be expelled by a stern gaze of determination a moment later. "You three! Help! My rodent lover…chased…by _phantasmas!"_

_Did she just say 'rodent lover?' _The connotations of that phrase send shudders through the vulpix couple and the pichu, as the thought of Charon desperately indulging in liaisons with a chikorita, of all creatures, proved less than pleasant to their moral conscience. There was no way Charon would ever do such a thing…would he? Surely she meant some other rodent!

"Follow me!" The chikorita urgently commands, at once sprinting down the path she tore through moments ago. Not given the chance to think things over, Lily and Calien reacted instinctively and pursued the distressed creature as Ivy hung onto the maiden vulpix's back like a barnacle, fearful of losing her grip and tumbling into the muddy ground of the woods. The chances were slim, but at the moment there was no better lead to find the lost raichu. If the chikorita's words were true, however…

_I can't let him throw his life away like that,_ Lily thought in mid-pursuit, _he needs me now more than ever._


	18. Descent

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well, that was a painful interval. D: For those of you, who have been following the story: let me promise you that I won't let this story go without an update for another three months.

If you wish to blame something, blame my college classes. :P

**Chapter Eighteen**

The cloudless sky above, robbed of its sun and moon, bore the color of spilled blood. Its crimson light basked down upon towers dotting a landscape of asphalt and steel – a human city. The teeming masses of men, women, and children, however, are nowhere to be found. No evidence existed that any life graced the city at all, not even a blade of grass. It was the kind of static, eternal existence that could only be born from true apocalypse.

Charon awoke in this dead city, his rodent body sprawled in a dark alley. The red sky, the first thing to invade his vision, quickened the pace of his heart. "Where am I?" He whispered. The growing anxiety was quick to seize his nerves.

Reluctantly he lifted his back off the ground, rising to stand upon his two thick legs. His long tail unfurled from his body, shaking off the invading grains of dirt before its jagged head hung behind him like a cobra. His senses absorbed more of the scenery around him. It only disturbed him more.

_There's something wrong with me, _Charon thought, as he rubbed his eyes in a futile attempt to restore his sight, _Everything's red and blurry, even my fur, and I can't hear anything! And this looks nothing like a forest at all. _

Ahead of him the raichu spotted the exit out of the alley, leading out into the empty streets. Stepping forward a foot at a time, he cautiously walked down that alley until his soles touched the cool, flat sensation of cement. His steps in the absolute silence might as well have been the crack of gunfire. Fear of what may be hiding in the inhospitable landscape muffled his breathing, but he could do nothing to ease the ever-louder throbbing of his heart.

_This place…I don't know how, but it feels familiar. But why? _Charon worried. The raichu bit down upon the flesh of one of his paws, leaking out his anxiety through the force of his teeth. However, he nearly tore that paw asunder when convulsions struck his chest. "Agh!" He cries out, grabbing himself where he suffered the jolts of pain, one paw upon the other in an attempt to stop his bleeding.

The agonizing seconds continue to pass on as something pounded fiercely against his ribcage from within. Forced back down to the ground upon his back, he pressed as hard as he could against his chest as he continued to writhe, grinding his teeth in the process. That proved futile, for his eyes widened in panic when a disturbing mound beneath his flesh suddenly shot upward, casting off his hands with little effort.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Charon shouted. Immediately he began pounding the mound, screaming all the while, trying to kill whatever was violating his body before it had a chance to burst out of him like a parasitic alien. This, too, also proved futile. He then tried grabbing the top and pushing downward like…well, like his life depended on it. But how surprising! This, too, proved futile as well. In fact he could feel the appendages of the creature inside pushing back against him!

"Dammit, why won't you die!" Charon cursed. Desperate to keep his body intact, he rolled over upon his stomach. Shoving against the cement sidewalk as if doing clap pushups, Charon adopted the routine of dropping his chest harshly against the ground, pushing back up, and repeating the same process again and again at a frantic pace. He hoped the force of gravity would prove to be more than enough persuasion for the little demon squirming beneath his ribcage.

"Do you like it? _whap_ Huh? Do you? _whap_ Do you? _whap_ I bet you want _whap_ more! _whap_ I sure as _whap_ hell won't stop! _whap_ That'll teach you, _whap_ you little bastard!" Charon continued to curse, quite determined to squash the bugger.

Several minutes pass as the raichu continued his attempts to kill the creature inside him. After a few dozen or so whaps to his chest, he collapsed upon his stomach, having effectively pummeled himself to form a nice bruise at the point of impact. Gasping for breath, he rolled upon his side. Stroking his paw across his chest, he found no evidence of the demon resisting him.

_Finally. I thought it would never stop,_ thought Charon. His breathing slows down, his nerves and tendons at last relaxing, but only slightly. _I got to figure out how to get out of here before anything else ha-_

His train of thought is violently interrupted as the creature inside him sprang back to life again. "GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Charon screamed, as the creature finally exploded out of his body. He shuts his eyes tight, expecting his tender chest to be ripped apart by a gaping hole. Blinding light burst forth from his body as the creature's velocity lobbed it quite a distance away. By the time that light faded away, the raichu's breath stuttered from the trauma of the moment. He impulsively grabbed for his chest, feebly attempting to cover the mortal wound that had to be there, expecting pints of blood to flow freely upon his paws. Charon's sense of touch, however, discovered something horribly wrong.

"J-j-just how deep is this w-w-wound!" Charon exclaimed. His eyes flashed open as he bent his neck upwards in order to see for himself the nature of the hole. Yanking his paws out of the way, he quickly realized that not only was there no bleeding, but he could also see the _ground _through _himself _in a hole nearly the size of his _head. _

An adrenaline rush shot Charon straight back up to his feet. He cursed and spazzed repeatedly, pacing about, alternating between shouting obscenities to the blood-red sky and shouting aforementioned obscenities through the humongous hole in his body, which disturbed him and sullied his language even more due to how it looked like the aftereffects of a cookie-cutter. In the midst of the mostly unintelligible outburst, however, a view through himself caught sight of the creature that had burst out of him. This restored some of his intelligence, but did little to quell his emotions, as he at once rushed to the creature responsible for his dismal state. Originally, he was going to verbally bite the creature's head off before forcefully interrogating him on the freakish world the raichu awoke in and its apparent defiance of basic logic; but when Charon came close enough to acquire a definite gaze upon the creature, he was mentally jarred when he realized that it was a pikachu that had burst out of his body. This halted his stomping upon the warpath as the raichu's anger succumbed to confusion and anxiety. He continued to close the gap between him and the smaller rodent with caution, more so when he noticed the limpness of the pikachu's body. When at last he stood before the pikachu, looking down upon him, the raichu's paw was clenched in his teeth once more.

_This is getting more disturbing by the second, _thought Charon, _I don't have clue who this guy is, or why he possibly could've burst out of me. I don't even know if this guy's still alive. Hell, I still don't know why I'm even here! Those ghosts…they're all I can remember. They swarmed around me, and then I blacked out..._

His teeth broke through the skin. _Am I…dead?_ _Oh shit, my paw! _Charon pried his mouth open, yanking the paw out of his mouth. The crimson light that shined on every surface of that world concealed the light bleeding of that punctured skin, but the pain cleared any doubts of the injury he inflicted upon himself.

"I can't do that anymore," Charon told himself, as he placed that paw upon the side of his body, "I have to get to the bottom of things if I want to get out of here, not gnaw myself to death." He fixed his sights upon the pikachu before him. With his good paw, he grabbed hold of the rodent's shoulder and gently shook him. "Hey. Hey! I need you to wake up," He spoke firmly, "Wake up!"

Soon, the pikachu began to stir. Charon was quick to pull his paw away from him, unsure how a fellow male may respond to his touch, despite the necessity. The yellow rodent let out a yawn, stretching his back in an arch. Much like the raichu beforehand, however, he was soon caught in the iron grasp of fear. It took little time for him to start talking, his voice quite high-pitched and sweet, compared to the grating, hoarse friction of the raichu's own vocals.

"W-w-where am I?" the yellow rodent stammered, "What am I doing here? This isn't home!"

At this point, the smaller rodent had not noticed the raichu next to him. Had Charon remembered the innate intimidation of his stature, all the more augmented by a giant hole in his chest, he probably would've backed away and followed the pikachu in the shadows. Alas, poor Charon, having not interacted with any one of his fellow mice in the longest time, proved a bit too eager to make his presence known. He promptly questioned the yellow rodent on his wellbeing. The pikachu merely had to turn to face the towering, orange mouse before at once freezing on the spot.

"Oh, sorry," Charon stumbled, as he hastened to cover the hole in his chest with his arms, "You're the one who did this to me, though, so you shouldn't be surprised."

A moment of silence passed between them, before the pikachu finally exclaimed, "You have a huge hole in your chest!"

At this the raichu groaned. "Gee, you finally noticed?"

The pikachu stood up upon his hindlegs, thrusting a pointing finger at the hole. "I could never do something like THAT!"

"Well, you did anyway," Charon replied, trying harder to cover up the gap in his body, "And for some reason it didn't kill me. You gave me a hell of a time bursting out of me, though."

Charon soon noticed that the frightened pikachu was starting to backpedal. "Wait a minute, where do you think you're going?" the raichu questioned, starting to walk forward to the pikachu, "I'm in as much trouble as you are, don't you see?"

"I'm sorry, ok!" The pikachu suddenly shouted, overwhelmed by panic, "Just don't hurt me!"

"What makes you think I'm going to hurt you?" Charon rebutted in agitation, continuing to move forward, "Right now I need help, and you're the only one around who can give it!"

"Get away from me!" cried the pikachu. Quickly turning around to drop to all fours, the rodent at once scurried down the road of the abandoned city. Aimless in his flight, all the yellow rodent cared about now was escaping from Charon, to whom the pikachu had caused great harm without knowing it, thus expecting the raichu to unleash his wrath.

Charon growled in frustration, cursing his own idiocy. At once he began to rush after the yellow mouse. Having a much larger body, he possessed a greater stride, thus he could match the pikachu's speed with ease. The pikachu proved unpredictable, however, diving into various alleys in an effort to throw the raichu off-course, and the blurry nature of the air made it difficult to pinpoint his body. The sound of the pikachu's scurrying feet, however, more than made up for the visual impairments, proving quite easy to track in the silence of the abandoned, crimson city.

"Stop running, dammit!" Charon called out to the pikachu, as he began to close in upon the yellow rodent's position, "This won't help either of us!"

Of course, this elicited no reply from the pikachu, too busy running for his life, not that Charon excepted a sudden change of opinion anytime soon. However, not even the adrenaline rush could push the pikachu's endurance beyond Charon's limit. The pikachu's overworked heart seemed ready to burst out of its own ribcage, while his small, but dexterous legs were ready to collapse like the limbs of a fallen marionette. He only had to round one more corner on the road before his footing slipped, throwing the pikachu into a biological train wreck.

Charon stopped in place, gripped by the horror of seeing the pikachu's body crash into the ground in such a sickening way. The ordeal of escaping from the raichu had left the pikachu battered and virtually paralyzed on the long, empty road. Left with no other options, the pikachu at once started to bawl towards the sky, begging for mercy from his pursuer.

"Please…I don't know what happened. I don't know why I'm here," He cried, "I never tried to hurt anyone in my life!"

Charon, for the longest time, was anchored to the point where he had stopped, for the dilemma of the situation tore at his conscience. He sympathized for the pikachu so much that it was as though he knew that little yellow mouse all of his life. He wished he could walk up to the small rodent, apologize, help him to his feet or even carry him until he regained his strength. But this would be a pipe dream in light of the first impression that cursed him since the moment of his evolution. He could avoid the all-too-familiar pains if he walked away; But leaving one of his kind here isolated in that harrowing world seemed an even worse crime.

_If I keep calm and not let his fear get the better of me…I might be able to do this. I just have to ignore that hole, _Charon finally surmised, _I need support as much as he does right now, or else we're both doomed. Alright…here goes nothing._

The raichu began to slowly walk towards the weeping pikachu. Already he could see the tension coursing through the yellow rodent, all the more obvious in the sudden gasp of breath. Charon's stride, thus, became sluggish, as though the few yards that separated them suddenly became miles. However, he was barely halfway to the pikachu when his ears suddenly picked up the sound of a rapidly falling object.

At once Charon looked up. Immediately after he wished he hadn't, for from out of nowhere the hind legs of yet _another _pikachu drove its feet right into the brow of Charon's skull. "Agh!" He cried, staggering backwards as the apparently hostile free faller sprung from his head towards the exhausted pikachu on the ground. Charon, had he not been reeling from the concussion wracking his brain, would probably be taken aback by the way the prone pikachu's gaze quickly lit up. Instead, the raichu was understandably more than a tad pissed.

"What the hell was that for!" Charon snapped, his vision all the more dazed as he struggled to retain consciousness.

"I'm not letting you hurt him!" proclaimed the newly arrived pikachu. It stood in-between Charon and the other pikachu, standing straight and all with cheeks visibly sparking.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him in the first place!" Charon rebutted. As the concussion passed, his vision soon started to regain some clarity. "It's just a huge misunderstand-!"

The raichu cut his words short, as the new pikachu that stood before him suddenly became all too familiar. The voice, the posture, the scent, all of it set his heart racing. They highlighted the traits of femininity he could recall as if she were by his side only yesterday. Yet, this female, the only such female he intimately knew, was supposed to be long dead. Was it some trick, a hallucination from the crimson atmosphere? No. It had to be her. It had to be. He had to confirm it, no matter how foolish the notion.

"Azelia…is it you, Azelia? What are you doing here? Don't you remember me?" Charon asked meekly.

The inquiry nearly made the female recoil. "How…how do you know my name?" She stammered in return.

"It's me, Azelia! Charon! We were close ever since we were pichu!" The raichu exclaimed, unable to restrain his excitement for their reunion. The feeling, however, will be short-lived, as Charon will soon discover.

"N-no! You can't be Charon!" Azelia rebutted anxiously. Pointing behind her while keeping her eyes glued to the raichu, she proclaimed, "Charon's right behind me!"

The male pikachu, at this point, had summoned the energy to finally rise to his feet. He approached Azelia, taking position by her side. The way his face was beaming as he looked to the female almost made Charon's heart sink.

"No, Azelia! I'm Charon!" The raichu insisted. Pointing accusingly at the male pikachu, he exclaimed, "That guy burst out from my damn body! I have no clue who he is, but he's definitely not me!"

"But that is my name," The male pikachu replied weakly, shuffling to stand close behind her.

"Then you're not the Charon she's looking for!" Charon cried.

"No! He is the one I'm looking for!" Azelia yelled back, "He's the Charon I knew!"

The statement threw the raichu into utter dismay. "But Azelia…we were together when we were shipped away from our owners! We sought comfort in each other until the moment they pulled us apart! Every moment in that terrible place I spent only thinking of you! I stayed strong and kept my willpower so that I could see you again someday, no matter what the humans tried to make me do!"

By the time Charon had finished talking, Azelia had already begun to burst into tears, her head dipped down as she covered her ears, trying to drown out the raichu's voice. Each word he spoke fueled the fire of animosity in her mind, leading her deeper into despair. She didn't want to hate the raichu, and neither Azelia or Charon wanted to face the truth; but in that moment of confrontation the pikachu couldn't fool herself any longer.

She wailed to the raichu, "The Charon I knew would've _never_ killed _me!_"


	19. The Broken Sleepwalker

Author's Note: Well, my track record for updating this story has proven to be quite terrible. Sorry about that. :( There is stuff that I intended for this chapter that will have to carry over into the next one, or else by this rate I'll be back in college again before the next update is ready. Oy vey. /

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Well…he is certainly quite a mess. Skewered shoulders sloppily mended with leaves? Left comatose out in the open beneath the trees? I am surprised his heart has not failed him yet, or that a predator has not devoured him, for it would coincide well with his terrible streak of fortune."

"Don't say things like that, Calien! It's not helping things. You're just going to upset the pear!"

"I doubt she understands much of what we are saying. She is even more of a foreigner than we are."

"It's still rude. Now hush!"

The vulpix couple, Calien and Lily, along with the pichu Ivy, had swiftly pursued Botana, the foreign chikorita , as the four-legged living pear led them down the path where Charon hastily scurried off. Now the four of them stood before Charon's unconscious body, encircling him. Streaks of dried blood stained the raichu's coat of fur, evidence to the inadequacy of the leaves covering the gashes inflicted by the former zangoose's claws. His face lied against the ground, the curly-qs of his ears lying limp amongst the soil.

Botana nudged the raichu by his side, trying to stir him awake. She got no reply, causing the chikorita's big eyes to swell with tears.

"Is he…dead?" questioned the pichu, stepping towards Charon as she observed him with apprehensive curiosity.

Calien stepped ahead of Ivy and placed his ear against Charon's back, taking care not to stain himself with any blood. "Lily, help me roll him upon his back," Calien requests, after pulling his ear away.

Lily quietly nodded, stepping to the side of her mate-to-be. The two of them stuck their heads beneath the weight of Charon's body and pressed forward with the strength of their backs and their legs. They strain somewhat from the considerable heftiness of Charon's bulk, but soon they persevered. The raichu now lied on his back, revealing his comatose countenance, as the two vulpixes sat down for a quick breather.

"He looks even worse at the front," Calien remarks.

"Does he look dead?" Ivy questioned, hesitantly stepping closer to Charon.

"Not dead! Not dead!" Botana suddenly blurted out, as she glared at the pichu, quite upset, "_Las Phantasmas tienen Charon!"_

"Aaaaah!" Ivy yelled, as the Glare of Imminent Death from the chikorita frightened her in such a way that she stumbled backwards and fell upon her back. She remained lying on the ground, not wanting to look into the fiery eyes of Botana again anytime soon.

Lily at once rushed to intervene, fearful that the chikorita had grown violent. She anchored herself between Ivy and Botana, returning the hostile glare to the plant-like creature. "I know you're concerned for Charon, but don't take it out on Ivy!" She snaps.

Botana, faced with the fear of having her delicate body ablaze by the fire-breather (for the bodies of plants could easily fuel their own hellish demise with the smallest of flames,) had no choice but to suppress her despair. She bowed her head, whimpering, shedding her tears into the muddy ground below.

"I know not of the 'phantasmas' she keeps speaking of," Calien says, as Lily turned away from the chikorita to check on the offspring, "but the pear is correct: Charon is alive."

Ivy was helped to her feet as she took hold of Lily's muzzle and held on as the maiden vulpix lifted the pichu's back off from the ground. Yet, even clamping against her cherished caretaker couldn't dissuade the pichu's apparent preoccupation with the raichu.

"He doesn't look alive," Ivy said, "You guys pushed him and he didn't move around."

"You seem awfully concerned for someone who frequently scares you to death," Calien remarked, narrowing the gaze of his remaining eye.

"I don't want him dead!" the pichu exclaimed, stepping back in reaction to the fox's grotesque, scrutinizing eye. "I don't like him but I don't want him dead!"

"Fair enough…still, you seem to doubt the validity of my words. Why not climb upon him and listen for the sound of his heartbeat? Since he lacks consciousness, I doubt he would mind. He does not even have to know about it," Calien suggested.

Lily, who had up to now eyeing the pichu for injuries, immediately tore her gaze from Ivy to stare bewildered at the male vulpix. "WHAT did you tell her to do?" Lily practically sputtered, as the pichu froze in place like a deer in headlights.

Calien was unfazed. "I told her to listen for Charon's heartbeat, which means, considering their difference in size, she would have to lie upon his chest. She does not believe Charon is alive, and apparently she would prefer not to see him perish, so if she confirms the life in his body by her own means it should give her peace of mind, should it not?"

He peers back to the pichu, his gaze askew so that the gash on his face wouldn't impose fear and disgust upon the offspring. "There is something you ought to know by now, Ivy. In the absolute worst-case scenario, if Lily and I have to leave you behind, and your mother is never found, and the herd that once gave you a home completes their fall into ruin by the reign of your terrible father, the raichu you see lying before you will be all you have left to care for you. The reverse is true for Charon as well. He may be intimidating, powerful, and capable of frightening violence, but his situation is no different from yours. He is alone. He is desperate for the comfort of another."

Calien pauses, letting his words sink into Ivy's mind. The pichu's face contorts a look of apprehension, but her wayward gaze suggested that the vulpix had struck a chord of empathy. Thus, Calien continues, "Charon would not stand to see you suffer like he has. He has never been a father, but I am sure he is more than willing to learn how to be one. But that will never happen if all you do is hide behind Lily. You must suppress the fear you have for raichus and give him an honest chance, or else the pains of being an exiled orphan may never cease to torment you. Start small, however: you can trust Charon would not hurt you while he is unconscious, can you not?"

Ivy began patting the digits of her forepaws gently together, leaking out the anxiety brewing in her conscience. "Y-y-yes," the offspring managed to stutter.

"Then you have no obstacle, save for your fear. Go to him," Calien implored, "And see for yourself that he lives."

The tiny rodent stood in one place for some time, before she mustered the courage to close the gap between herself and Charon. As she walked sluggishly to the raichu's side, her nerves began to tremble as she eyed the impaled shoulders. She couldn't ignore the tiny wounds on his forepaws that she had once ripped open with her teeth, either. Her own forepaws wrung together with an intensity that could choke someone to death, the proverbial dam of her emotions cracking and threatening to burst.

Lily rushed to Calien's side- then switched to the other side the moment she recoiled from his scar. "Look how frightened she is, Calien! Ivy doesn't have to do this! She shouldn't have to!" she pleaded to his mate.

"Yes, she does," Calien insisted, "She has grown too attached to you. She will never be able to move on and live with her kind if you constantly spoil her with affection and care."

"She's only a child! She needs someone to take care of her!" The maiden vulpix insisted.

"That is the responsibility of her species!" Calien snapped.

"And they've done such a fine job, too," Lily lashed back.

"They at least have the sense to produce their_ own_ offspring. You have not borne a single kit. All you have done, though beneficial to the offspring, is merely a babysitter's job. Anyone who values posterity would tell you that having your own family means everything!"

The maiden vulpix narrowed her eyes. "You're just upset we haven't done it yet, aren't you?"

Calien grimaced, glancing away shamefully from his mate-to-be. "It's all the more reason to make Charon do more for the offspring, I say. We would have already gone down the road to being parents had you ever thought the raichu had the capacity to be a decent caretaker!" He refocused his gaze upon Lily with a scowl. "Or perhaps, deep down, you wished you could keep the offspring for yourself so that you would never have to face-."

"Stop it, Calien!" Lily interrupted angrily. "That's out of line and completely unfair! I'd NEVER put my interests ahead of what's best for-!"

Lily's retort against Calien's accusations is tragically cut short when Botana shot through the space between the two of them. She is rushing towards Charon and Ivy, having caught sight of a scene that greatly disturbed the chikorita, making her wail in her foreign tongue. Naturally, her swift charge towards the raichu draws the startled gazes of the foxes towards her target. It was at that moment they saw Charon back upon his stomach, trapping the helpless pichu between the earth and the weight of his chest, paws clasping at the sides of the offspring's tiny frame.

"Azelia…don't leave me…it was an accident..." Such are the whispers of desperation flowing from the dark recesses of Charon's unconscious mind, poured into the ears of the frozen offspring, the terror silencing her little tongue as her tiny paws thrust outwards every which way in a futile attempt to escape from the harrowing embrace.

"What is he doing!" Lily shouted.

No one answers her, for Calien immediately rushed to shove Charon off of Ivy, assisting Botana (also attempting the same.) Charon, however, trapped in the delusions of his psyche, resists all the force they can muster, determined not to lose his grip. "No…I won't let you go. I don't want to lose you again!" He says with fierce resolve.

"Please! Get him off me!" Ivy suddenly cried, her strength failing as Charon's weight continued to crush her into the ground. Her instincts start to take over, charging the electricity in her cheeks. But, being a mere offspring, she was much more likely to inflict great pains to her delicate body, for her natural defenses were far from matured.

"Calien, back away from them!" Lily suddenly barked commandingly.

"What? But the offspring-!" The fellow vulpix tried to object, but Lily cut him off.

"Just do it!"

Left with his actions rendered futile, Calien reluctantly withdraws from the sleepwalking raichu. "You better know what you are doing!" he says to Lily.

Now it was Lily's turn to charge forward. Not paying heed to Botana (for the vulpix hoped the visual cues would provide enough warning,) Lily circled around to the raichu's side opposite of the chikorita. The fox perched her upper body upon the rodent, reached down to one of his severe wounds in the shoulders, and ripped away the bandage of leaves covering said gash with her sharp set of teeth.

Botana gasped in shock, mistaking Lily to have lethal intents. "_Qué estás haciendo!" _The grass creature shrieked, "Get away! No harm Charon!"

"Why, Azelia? Why can't you come back with me!" Charon went on, as his grasp enveloped Ivy into a hug, burying Ivy's head into his chest, muffling her cries for help.

Calien jumped in front of the chikorita, pushing her away from Charon. "Let Lily do what she must!" He insists.

"_Ustedes estan locos!" _cries Botana, as she whipped the leaf on her head, trying to make Calien back off. But the threat of another gash in his flesh wasn't enough to defeat the vulpix. He hopped back a short step, only to launch into a full-on tackle, pouncing upon the chikorita. Botana was knocked clear off her feet, her back now pinned against the earth, the heat of a fire-breather blowing against her face as Calien forced as much of his weight against her as possible in order to keep her still. Were she not so helpless, the chikorita's expression would've betrayed her newfound hatred for the vulpixes.

The wound now fully exposed, Lily placed the tip of her muzzle right upon it. A moment of hesitation seized her, giving her a moment to contemplate the act she was about to commit. The panic of the pichu as she began to suffocate beneath the raichu, however, silenced any and all doubts. Slowly she inhaled the morning air into her lungs, churning the furnace deep in her body, until at last a burst of flame expelled upon Charon's gash.

Charon's body violently sprung out of its dreamlike trance as he let loose a scream that could wake the buried dead.


	20. Counsel

**Chapter Twenty**

_Bleaugh…_

Charon felt as though he had been ripped to pieces, trampled to mush, then mended back together by little more than duct tape. An overwhelming force from out of nowhere, devastating his body, blew out most of his senses, blinding him and numbing his flesh, just as the drama had reached its peak in the crimson city. The sharp, sudden pain wiped away the city, its ominous atmosphere, the pikachu that burst from his chest and (what dismayed the raichu the most) the long-lost female Azelia, who disappeared from his desperate embrace during the blast.

Now his body, the hole in his chest inexplicably healed to perfection, floated limply in a perfect void, filled with nothing but a pure hue of white, having no reference whatsoever to location or time, its source of light impossible to detect. When the pain in the raichu's body lessened, he opened his eyes to see the vacant realm. He took a moment to groan out into the void, pulling down on the curly-Qs of his ears, before recollecting his thoughts to keep insanity from consuming his mind. At the point his mental state grew accustomed to the void surrounding him, he set forth on his first course of action, fueled by a rightful anger.

"I know you're out there!" He called out, "I know what you're trying to do to me! My mind isn't a playground for you to wreak havoc upon, you hear me!? I'm not going to crack to the likes of you. I won't break down for your amusement. My memories are mine and mine alone, and I'll confront them on my own accord! Get out of my damn head and leave me alone!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! That's no way to thank someone!" spoke a voice behind Charon.

"Gaaaah!" Charon spun around, startled by that voice in the abyss. It was then that he finally stood face-to-face with the subconscious intruder, the Forest Warden. He presented himself modestly to the raichu, their comparative sizes about the same as in the real world. His seemingly permanent grin, however, still managed to unnerve the rodent, never mind his naturally ethereal appearance.

"Heh heh heh! I never get tired of that expression. It makes me yearn for my more mischievous days!" The gengar laughed.

Charon wasn't as amused. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he cried with an accusing point of the paw. "Is this some damn game to you?! I shouldn't be thanking you for anything!"

"Now, now, I'd be more than happy to answer whatever questions you may have," the Forest Warden replied, "But we must do something about that temper of yours first."

The ghost snapped his fingers once. Instantaneously, Charon was transformed into buttered toast.

"Mmmmm, I used to love buttered toast," the gengar reminisced, grabbing Charon by the crust.

"_What the hell did you just do to me!?_" Charon's newly-disembodied voice cried out from the slice of bread.

"I made you toast. Wasn't that nice of me?" remarked the poltergeist. "Mmmmm, it's been ages since I nibbled on a nice piece of bread."

Charon freaked. "You're not making a meal out of me! _YAAAAAAARGH!_"

Not even the raichu understood how he was moving about in that void, reduced to a slice of bread. Nevertheless, as soon as he thought that the gengar was going to eat him, he spun himself vertically and shot towards the Forest Warden's skull like a ninja's throwing star. The ghost was quick to react, tumbling backwards so that Charon overshot his target.

"Now, now, can't you take a joke?" the Forest Warden questioned smugly, turning to face the volatile bread, "They say that laughter makes for the best medicine!"

Charon halted, reversed his spin, and rocketed towards the ghost again. "_Do you see me laughing?! Do you?!"_

The ghost did not dodge Charon's attack the second time around. But there wasn't a need. Charon, in his anger, forgot that buttered toast made for a very poor weapon. He unwittingly flew right into the gengar's hands, caught like a Frisbee moments before impact. Before he knew it, he was shoved whole into the mouth of the ghost, repeatedly licked by the large, dripping tongue inside. Needless to say, this wasn't the most enjoyable of experiences.

"Let me out!" Charon cried. He violently pounded against the gums, the teeth, the tongue, the cheeks, whatever would be the most sensitive to his attacks. Apparently he had struck something sensitive, for soon he was spat out from the Gengar's mouth, floating once again in the void. Charon shook the disgusting saliva from his crust while the Forest Warden stroked a swollen cheek, his tooth-bearing grin flipped into a tooth-bearing frown.

"Aghf! You gave me a toothache! I'm going to have to visit the dentist after this. Wait, what am I saying? There aren't dentists in the wild! Doh! Guess I have to fix it myself."

"Change me back right now, you sick bastard!" Charon demanded.

"Hold your horses, bub," The Forest Warden insisted, "That temper won't get you anywhere…unless you happen to like killing things that is. Oy! My cheek feels like a grapefruit!" To undo the swelling, he adopted a peculiar method that contradicted all forms of common sense: at once started to punch the bump in his face until it had flattened back into its normal shape. He then shook his head like a dog drying off from a bath, supposedly to shake away the excruciating pain that would have rendered any living creature comatose. It was one of the odder benefits of being a ghost, to be sure.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes! You wanted to be a raichu again. Peh, you're so uptight," the gengar continued, expressing a faux disappointment, "When was the last time you had any fun? Heck, you're a male! When was the last time you got _laid_? The season's nearing for that, you know. If I were you, I'd make up for lost time."

The Forest Warden snapped his fingers again. Charon returned to his familiar self. The expression on his face, however, showed no relief. Blood had drained from his cheeks, leaving behind a pale complexion, as Charon stared at the gengar feeling petrified. The words that the gengar had chosen couldn't have been a coincidence- not in the slightest.

"You know, I find it a real surprise that your former masters never neutered you. Then again, that's why you were sent to _that_ place, wasn't it?" The Forest Warden went on, "Oh, and don't look so surprised: you were accusing me of screwing with your memories a moment ago. That dream was of your own making really, but still: Is it so hard to believe just how _far_ into the depths of your mind I can go? I didn't become the Forest Warden for my sexy looks, you know."

Charon bared his teeth. "You monster," he seethed, "You didn't have any right. What's happened to me is my own problem! I don't need you to dissect me and tell me what I already know!"

"Of course you don't! The problem is that you don't know how to deal with it," the gengar pointed out, "Really, as of late you only have two solutions to everything: run away from it or attack it with force. With the kind of track record you have, I'd assume you'd try something else by now. Or do you just happen to enjoy killing things?"

"Of course I don't enjoy it!" Charon ejaculated, "But what am I supposed to do when everyone treats me like a ruthless thug?! They either run away from me or try to gut me! Don't I have a right to defend myself!?"

The poltergeist sighed, looking away from Charon. "The sting of prejudice is a terrible pain indeed, rodent. But you brought it upon yourself. In your case, their fear is far from baseless. You knew that, didn't you? Isn't that why you isolated yourself in the thick of the woods, after what happened to your lady friend?"

"_That was an accident!_" Charon roared, _"She wasn't supposed to die! I was trying to PROTECT her! I never wanted to KILL her!"_

"And yet you did…and you haven't stopped since then. You've killed that zangoose, reduced one of the most elderly trees to ash, and nearly electrocuted one of my minions into nothingness. Heck, you even nearly killed that baby rodent that was tagging along with you. Of course, none of that even remotely compares to what you did to escape captivity. That's a particularly nasty secret of yours, isn't it?"

That comment pushed Charon over the edge. "Fuck you! You think you know everything, but you don't! You just think I'm a damn killing machine! Well, do you? Do you think I'm a threat? Then kill me! Kill me! What are you waiting for!?" He crossed an imaginary X on his chest. "See, I made it easy for you! You got nothing else to stop you! It doesn't matter anymore if I wanted a new life or not! If I have to pay for my mistakes with my life then I'm not going to run away from it! Strike me down, make an example of me! I just don't care anymore!"

The poltergeist stared silently at Charon, observing his violent outburst, the rapid beating of his heart, the struggling breathing, and the subtle glaze that coated the rodent's olive eyes. Charon glared at the ghost in return. His emotions were hanging frailly on a delicate precipice as the gengar floated there, doing nothing, his face completely neutral. The purple ghost wasn't even bearing any teeth as he normally did. What was going through the poltergeist's mind was anyone's guess.

When the agonizing moment of silence passed, the Forest Warden began to float towards the raichu, his expression unchanged. Charon's breathing halted, for he was seized with the notion that he was now about to die. His heart pounded rigorously against his ribcage as he saw the gengar extend a hand towards him, perhaps to give him the touch of death.

Instead, the ghost took a firm hold of the raichu's shoulder and said with a grin, "A little melodramatic, aren't we?"

"What?" That was the first thing to be uttered from Charon's lips, as he was filled with confusion that defused his anger, if only for a moment. It was as though he was a supposed to be a victim in a slasher flick but the killer decided to give him a box of chocolates instead: it simply wasn't the way the story was supposed to go. The ghost was intentionally rewriting the script; but for what purpose?

"My apologies, I was merely testing you. You can relax now," continued the gengar.

"What?!" Charon was far from relaxed.

"Oy! Do you hate yourself or something? I tell you to relax and you get more strained than ever! Tsk tsk tsk! You definitely need help. Allow me to supply it for you."

The ghost snapped his fingers once more. In a flash, their feet touched upon solid pavement that stretched into the horizon. Gravity seized Charon's body and he yelped as he nearly fell flat on his face, saving himself at the last minute by landing on all fours.

"How's that for a start?"

The raichu responded with an irritated glare, quick to rise back into a standing position. _What the hell is he doing now? _Such was the thought that crossed Charon's mind, even though he was glad not to be floating helplessly in an empty space anymore.

"That's not all," the gengar went on, "You might want to watch your head."

Charon began to really dread the sound of snapping fingers. The ghost did this twice. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then the raichu had the smarts to gaze upward as the Forest Warden suggested. A rapidly plummeting hot tub greeted his view in return.

"Ack!" The raichu dove backwards in the nick of time as the tub slammed into the pavement. Rather than shattering into a thousand pieces, however, the ground caved in like brightly colored clay, while ripples from the impact traveled outward. The shockwave, one of many violations of known physics the gengar gleefully enacted, tossed Charon's body a meter into the air. He landed on his back a moment later, only to scramble back unto his feet again as quickly as he had been swept off. By now, the bulging veins on his forehead were sure to be visible.

"What the hell are you- ACK!" Charon's attempt to berate the ghost was rudely interrupted when a massive flow of steaming hot water poured from the seemingly infinite sky, splashing all over the place as it messily filled up the hottub embedded in the pavement. Both ghost and rodent got thoroughly soaked. The gengar embraced the water giddily while the poor raichu had to shield his eyes with his forepaws, not wanting them to be scalded.

"Ah, it's been awhile since I've gone the lengths to recreate one of these," the Forest Warden mused. "I never really bother since most of the creatures never see one of these things in their entire lives. But you've seen it at least once, if your memories are any indication."

Charon shook the excess water from his body. He was on the verge of having an aneurysm by this point. His forepaws clenched into fists by the sides of his body. "Do you enjoy pissing me off or something?! Because you're doing a _terrific _job!"

"I can also do a terrific job of making you ice cream, if you follow me. Just work with me on this," the gengar warned.

Charon crossed his forelimbs, looking off to the side as he cursed the gengar silently. "Fine, then. It's not like I know what you're talking about."

"Well, that is a shame! You've forgotten the days when the human boy would let you relax in such a hot tub, after a hard day's worth of training. From what I see, he's the reason you're so strong in the first place."

"He's also the reason that I'm a raichu. He forced it upon me. I don't like to think about him."

The Forest Warden shrugged. "Ah, well. Sometimes you have to take the bad things with the good. Now then, don't you want to take a dip?"

Charon turned to eye the ghost angrily. "You turn me into food and attempt to eat me, accuse me of being a heartless killer, intentionally push me around to leave my thoughts in shambles, and NOW you want me to let my guard down in a damn hot tub!?" He pointed accusingly at the gengar. "You're just going to pull another trick on me! Hell, maybe you'll even kill me like I thought you would!"

"I swear that I won't, rodent. Besides, if you let yourself relax for a change we can get down to business," the ghost said as he floated towards the hot tub.

Charon gritted his teeth, thinking, _You're the reason I can't relax!_

"I had no choice, sadly, when it came to hunting you down," continued the gengar, as he began to slowly sink his body into the hot tub, "With what's going on lately in the woods, it's gonna take a careful plan to fix things, and it's gotta be done quick. You seemed more like a loose cannon than I would've liked. But you're all I got, and you're not as bad as I thought you were, so there's still some hope. Ah…that water feels nice, the way the streams massage your back. It's a crying shame none of it is real."

"What do you mean, 'you had no choice?!'" The rodent dashed up to the edge of the tub, directly confronting the Forest Warden as it relaxed in the hot water, "What's the purpose of all this insanity? Why are you treating me like this? Why must you know all my secrets!? Why don't you leave me alone already?!"

The forest warden sighed. "If you would just amuse me and get in the hot tub, I'll tell you, ok? I swear, from this point on, that I will be frank and to the point. Scout's Honor."

"What does that even mean!?" Charon exclaimed.

"Just get in the bathtub before I turn you into teriyaki!" barked the Forest Warden.

Charon didn't have any clue what teriyaki was. Nevertheless, he knew he would be helpless and cast into the worst kind of hell if he was transmogrified into another random object. Not hiding an inkling of the contempt he held against the poltergeist, he decided to plop his body harshly into the tub, splashing a tidal wave's worth of hot water at the gengar. The raichu gritted his teeth as his body, submerged up to the neck, endured the shock of the hot tub's high temperature, almost feeling as though he was being boiled alive, as his eyes seemed to drill holes of hatred into the pupils of the Forest Warden.

"That wasn't very nice. I ought to open a trap door at your feet and have you plummeting down a bottomless pit for a day," spoke the Warden, though his perma-grin was unfazed, "But that would digress from the issue at hand. By the way, how's the tub?"

As determined as Charon was to spite the Forest Warden, his body was quickly yielding to the pleasures of the hot tub as soon as the boiling sensation had subsided. The steam rising from the water invaded his lungs and his nostrils, clearing the passages, while the jet streams in the tub massaged the whole of his back. He could feel the tension disappearing from his body much like the vapors of the hot tub escaping into the air. All this, along with the muffled churning and bubbling of the water pumps, did well to calm his nerves.

"I would always be too small for their hot tub," Charon reminisced, "The boy would hold me by the waist so that I didn't sink to the bottom."

"Yes, I know. He and the girl truly cared for you."

Charon looked off to the side with a regretful frown.

"You seemed all settled now," observed the gengar. "Excellent. Now we can discuss the issue at hand. I know you have your sights set on getting yourself a mate - a noble endeavor, to be sure. I can tell how dedicated you are to this task with all that you've endured, even if on several occasions you've pulled some especially nasty boners."

Charon eyed the Forest Warden incredulously. "Boners?"

"Mistakes, slip-ups, liabilities, take your pick!" The forest warden seemed rather irritable when his choice of diction was questioned. "Taking the pichu with you was a very good idea, but letting those foxes tag along wasn't, especially in light of…well, I don't have to tell you that your understanding of mating is quite skewed by human influence. They got a rather harsh term for that, a term that you know all too well."

"I didn't choose to be 'broken'," Charon answered, "That was forced upon me too. But I resisted all the way."

"Nevertheless, the way the humans…_enlightened_ you is irreversible. You can't revert to ignorance."

"It doesn't mean I have to entertain it!"

"How true. It's admirable how well you have resisted, even when the chikorita practically threw herself upon you."

"Is there a point to all this?"

The Forest Warden sighed. "Yes, Charon, there is. The point is that you'd be doing the forest an enormous favor if you were to…heighten your ambitions."

"What?"

"It's like this, Charon: As you know all too well, humans love the heck out of pikachus and their offsprings and their raichu cousins, but especially pikachus. So much so that the presence of a herd of those rodents helps to keep this forest alive. Humans – the smart ones anyway – know how rare and exotic you guys really are, and would rather forfeit their own lives than see you guys driven into extinction. So they take it upon themselves to preserve these woods and limit the number of 'chus they take into captivity per moon. So, thanks to the chus, the rest of the forest can rest easy, knowing their home won't be bulldozed and replaced with a shopping center."

Charon thought about it for a moment. "I had an idea that humans liked pikachus a lot, but I didn't think it was that much. Not from what I saw."

"What you saw was human greed and stupidity at its finest," spoke the gengar, "I can assure you there would be plenty of humans who would savor burning such a horrid place to the ground, most of all the human children who took care of you. But I digress." He moved along the perimeter of the hot tub so that he could sit by Charon's side. Charon, understandably, grew a tad uncomfortable, receding slightly from the ghost.

"Normally, there's a nice balance to this system," continued the Forest Warden, "The humans spent so much time watching the 'chus make their babies that they know precisely how many they can take into captivity without threatening the future of the herd. The ones that do get caught typically become pets, or are trained for competition, or even become helpers in anything remotely involving electricity. As sorely missed as the captives are, they're generally ok with their new lives, since all the regulations the humans force upon themselves make sure that the smart, benevolent humans are the ones to get the 'chus. It's not by all means perfect, with the occasional poacher trying to score a quick catch for a vile purpose, but the denizens of these woods spare no mercy for their kind."

"I've yet to see a point to all this," Charon replied.

"You have no patience!"

"It's practically gone on a vacation by now. Anyone weaker subjected to this would've flat out cried to death."

"Then hear this, Charon: the herd that you so desire to find is dying. A cancer is eating it away from the inside, and it is in the shape of a raichu, their patriarch. Irrational jealousy made him drive his mate away, and the depravity he suffered drove away his daughter in turn. Now he wants nothing else but the rest of the herd to die along with him, and he plans to do so by preventing anyone from having offspring.

"You _could_ settle for rescuing a maiden for yourself, but that's not going to cut it. If the humans see that their beloved 'chus are practically gone, the stupid among them will want to consume the whole of these woods until there is nothing but lifeless dirt! Without the 'chus there's nothing to stop them! _You_ are the only one that can prevent this from happening!"

The Forest Warden's voice boomed with intensity near the end of his words, shoving his finger toward the raichu very much like how Uncle Sam had pointed his finger at potential army recruits. So imposing were these actions that Charon kept leaning back until he lost his footing and fell back into the steaming hot water with a yelp. The gengar retreated from the chaotic splashing that followed as Charon scrambled to get his head out of the water.

"Ack, my eyes!" Charon exclaimed, rubbing them thoroughly with his paws.

"Sorry about that," said the Warden, "But you understand how serious this all is, right?"

"Of course I do! But what am I supposed to do about it? That patriarch's not going to step down because I ask him to!"

"Indeed. He's already driven off or killed the other raichus, so he wouldn't treat you differently."

"So are you telling me to kill him!?"

"Well, it is a possible solution," admitted the gengar, "But it's more important that he loses his power. If you prove your superiority, you could seize that power for your own."

"WHAT?! No way!" Charon grew quite upset, sloshing the water about as he ranted. "There's no way they'd accept me as their patriarch! How could I be any worse in their eyes than the one they got now? Also, I don't know anything about leading a herd! I've lived in captivity most of my damn life!"

A brief pause followed, for the gengar took a moment to think deeply about the situation. "If you don't have the confidence to take control of the herd, then why not approach the problem on its flank? There's still one aspect about you that not even the whole of the herd possesses."

Charon didn't look forward to knowing what this aspect was. He asked the gengar dreadfully, "What would that be?"

"Well, since you are 'broken,' you're not bound by instinct to follow their mating ritual. They happen to prefer a monogamous relationship, just so you know. That'd make it easy for the patriarch to go around and challenge the other males, beat them within an inch of their lives, then leave the females practically mate-less. Of course, he can do the same just by catching them in the act, but even then he won't bring himself to harm the females. The crazy raichu's afraid of ruining his own plan if he even _touches _a female.

"But Imagine the patriarch's shock if he discovers his fatalistic plans were thwarted by…oh, I don't know…a secret _harem_?"

"A harem?" Charon repeated meekly, as his dread was quickly and rightfully justified.

"A _secret_ harem! It'd be perfect, Charon! While the patriarch's beating his males senseless, you can sneak in and claim all the lonely females for yourself. By the time he thinks he's guaranteed the death of the herd, you'd have impregnated most of those lovely maidens. By the time he finds out about you it'd be much too late to stop the litters from coming!"

Charon thought now was a good time to verbally and physically erupt. He launched out of the hot tub with a shout, splashing the Warden thoroughly, and landed upon the edge of the tub where he was confronting the Warden before. "Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?!" Charon exclaimed, "I can't believe I'm hearing this! You want me to treat the females like they're territories to be conquered!"

"Well, _someone's_ got to do it. You're the only 'chu in a position to do anything about it. Everyone else is at the mercy of that patriarch. None of them will be able to bear offspring as long as he remains in power," replied the Warden, as he emerged from the hot-tub, "You're the rogue element, Charon. If you don't take down the patriarch and seize his power, you have to infiltrate the herd and father the posterity yourself!"

Charon grew desperate for an alternate plan. "Didn't you say there were raichus that he drove away? Why can't I just get them to help? I can't do any of this on my own!"

"Oh, you're welcome to seek them out, but they're all a shadow of their former selves," answered the Forest Warden. He snapped his fingers twice. Instantly, the hot tub disappeared, replaced by the pavement it had sunk into upon impact. "The patriarch took care to shatter their minds before he banished them from the herd. They'll most likely lack the will to help you. Besides, you're not really on your own. You already have friends to help you. Yes, I know you'd rather not get them involved. You can save your breath. But the fact is that they already are. You might as well make the most of them."

"What about you!?" Charon cried, "Can't you and your ghost pals do anything worth a damn to help me!?"

"We can't do anything direct," the Forest Warden stated bluntly, "We can only help you from behind the scenes. However, I do have a gift that will be of some use to you."

In one hand, the Forest Warden produced a small ball of pulsating, dark-colored energy. Without much warning, he threw it at Charon. The raichu gasped and held his forelimbs up in a blocking position, not having enough time to dodge the blast. However, he felt no impact. His body harmlessly absorbed the orb instead. When Charon realized he wasn't hurt at all, he shot at the Warden, "What the hell was that?!"

"My gift, of course," replied the Forest Warden. "You now have a sixth sense. My minions and I are now visible to you even when we are invisible to everyone else. You'll also be able to hear us and even talk to us when no one else can. In this manner we will help you. Of course, your friends might think you've lost your marbles, save for the chikorita."

"It's not like that matters. I don't have a clue where they are," answered Charon, "And chances are they already think I'm crazy."

"They've already stumbled upon you, and I'm sure they've gotten used to your quirks by now, so you don't have to worry about that."

"What?! Why are you keeping me here, then?! Let me wake up!"

"Will you do what must be done to save the herd if I let you emerge from your slumber?"

"Of course I will!" Charon exclaimed without hesitation, stomping a foot into the imaginary pavement, "There's no point in what I want to do if the forest is going to be leveled, so I might as well do something about it!"

_And I'll be damned if I reduce myself to a breeding machine!_ Such was the thought in his head as the raichu made his proclamation.

"That's the spirit!" The gengar cheered, "Prepare for your awakening, Charon. You will see the light of day when I snap my fingers once more. But I must warn you…during that nightmare of yours you managed to scare the living daylights out of that poor little pichu yet again. You might want to come up with a good apology."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Charon sarcastically replied, as he crossed his forelimbs impatiently.

"Oh, and one more thing, Charon: the pichu's mother was captured by the humans just as the offspring ran away from the herd. You don't have to tell her, but she'll have to come to terms with the fact that her mother is gone eventually. Maybe it's about time you started acting like a parent to her, no?"

The manner in which the Forest Warden threw out that tidbit of information, as well as the information itself, left Charon trapped in a moment of shock. If he was able to escape that shock, he would've pounded the ghost for more information, trying to confirm what the Forest Warden had stated. He also would've rushed to his own defense, saying he was doing all he could for the pichu, but that prejudices against him made it all a nearly hopeless cause.

He did not get the chance, for the ghost had snapped his fingers. The subconscious world before Charon shattered and collapsed into a vacuum of nothingness as he was finally thrust back into the world of the living.


	21. Awakening

**Chapter 21**

One of the unfortunate effects of the brain shifting from a dream state to a state of consciousness is that the nerves of the body attached to said brain kick into high gear almost immediately. Like a nagging wife, all sorts of information is thrust upon the brain by the body, and if there happens to be anything of utmost importance that screams for attention – such as the searing pain of cauterized wounds – the body won't fail to point it out in the direct way possible, regardless of whether or not the brain is ready for it – unless the signals to the brain are mitigated, or perhaps directly intervened.

Charon had been forced to remain unconscious by the Forest Warden when Lily resorted to significant pain by means of her fiery breath in order to snap Charon out of his sleepwalking state. While her course of action freed Ivy from Charon's grasp, the raichu failed to snap awake, instead receding into a comatose state that left his body limp and nearly lifeless. He didn't even cry out from the expected pain. It wasn't until the pichu was pulled out from under the raichu's heavy body by Lily's maw that the implications of such a state paralyzed those present in turn. Lily, in particular, widened her eyes in shock, for the vulpix thought she might have killed him on the spot.

Botana took action in a heartbeat. The chikorita dramatically threw off Calien, who had pinned her down upon her back, after knocking the wind out of him with a swift jab of her foot to the fox's diaphragm. As the male vulpix fell onto his back and struggled to recover his breath, Botana rushed to Charon's side. After she shared with Lily her opinion of the fox by means of a few brief curses in her native tongue, the plant-like female positioned the large, green leaf on her head above the raichu's body and swayed it rhythmically back and forth. An incredibly potent scent of garden flowers poured out. It was so pure and rejuvenating that the odor's overall effect would be one step short of a painkiller high. Lily and Ivy retreated to where Calien lied and collectively covered their noses, uncertain what the scent just might do to them, leaving Charon to receive the full brunt of it.

It was in such circumstances that Charon finally woke up. Were it not for the full-scale assault of Botana's impromptu aromatherapy, he would've immediately started to writhe and groan in pain. Instead, much to his surprise, the raichu felt light-headed and numb all over as he woke up to discover that he was lying on his stomach, back in the woods.

Charon sighed. "I'm glad that nightmare's finally over," he muttered aloud. He didn't understand why most of his body felt like dead weight, nor why his head felt ready to float off into the clouds, but he was content with it for now, considering the alternative. He was about to lift up his head to check his surroundings when an unseen force pushed sharply against his side, forcing his view skyward as he rolled onto his back. He could barely exclaim in surprise before he faced a chikorita so ecstatic and lovesick that he was silenced with eyes of unadulterated terror.

"_Tu estás vivo, Charon!"_ Botana exclaimed that phrase before she seized hold of Charon and, much to the raichu's dismay, engulfed his lips in an open-mouthed kiss that cut off his air intake. He spent the next ten seconds flapping his limbs helplessly like a fish out of water, his protests smothered by the chikorita's intimacy, until he had the sense to grab hold of the female and firmly push her back, holding her at bay. Understandably, Botana looked a bit hurt after that.

"I know you're happy to see me," Charon said as he gasped for breath, "But I never said we're mates. So please…don't use your tongue like that. That's just not right."

Botana reluctantly nodded, not understanding the language in full but grasping the message behind it. But as she backed away from Charon to a respectful distance from his personal space, she disclaimed, "My feelings…they are still the same."

Charon attempted to rise to his feet. His current state, however, skewed his sense of balance. Standing on two feet proved much too wobbly for him, causing him to stagger somewhat like a defective punching toy. It didn't take long for him to collapse onto all fours, thus bringing his vision down towards the chikorita's level.

"Just what did you do to me?" Charon stayed in place, for he was certain that attempting to walk would only topple him back to the ground.

"I make you feel better with my scent of the leaf," Botana replied.

"You might've used just a little too much. I feel drugged!"

"_Lo siento, Charon_._"_

The forlorn expression that drew across the chikorita's face caused Charon to pause. He said to her, "It's not like I don't appreciate it, Botana! I can't feel it because of you, but I know I'd be writhing in pain right now. I guess what I'm trying to say is…well, 'thank you.'"

Botana's smile was restored. "You are welcome, Charon."

Not too far off, another voice chimed in. "What is this? It would seem that the raichu's character is uncharacteristically mild today."

"Don't start, Calien!" Another voice chimed in.

"Are they doing it?" Yet another voice spoke.

"Not you too, Ivy! They're right in front of us. Show some decency!"

Charon knew who the voices belonged to well before he and Botana turned their heads toward their source. There he saw his companions, Lily, Calien, and Ivy, the same three who had stuck with him since the very start of the journey, gathered close together, weary from all that had occurred. Today, after the terrible, rainy night that had Charon run from the fears of his terrible actions, fate saw it fit to reunite them. Even though the Forest Warden, while occupying his unconscious, told Charon he had done something frightful to the offspring while in his sleep, thus implying the return of all of his companions, it still wasn't enough to stop the flood of guilt that engulfed him at that very moment.

Charon rushed towards them. He did not get very far. Since he could barely stand on all fours, he was in no condition to walk, never mind run. Halfway towards the vulpix couple and the pichu, Charon tripped, fell, and landed flat on his stomach and face. As he lifted his head to spit out the dirt that invaded his mouth and displeased his tongue, he could hear hurried footsteps coming towards him from opposing directions. They belonged to Lily and Botana.

"Charon! Don't push yourself. You need time to heal," the maiden vulpix warned Charon. Opposite to Lily, however, the chikorita possessed a righteous anger that lashed against the fire-breathing fox.

"You are terrible! You tell him to heal, but you hurt him! You hurt him with burning fire while the male with one eye holds me down!"

"_That's_ what happened to me? I'd expect Calien to do something like that," Charon spoke in reaction, though by the tone of his voice it seemed he was taking it in quite calmly. He peered upwards to the maiden vulpix from the ground. "You're not the type to harm anybody without a good reason. What'd I do to piss you off?"

Despite the cool nature of Charon's questioning, the presence of the chikorita's unforgiving glare burdened Lily with the pressures of interrogation. Her ears wilted down as she quickly became upset. "What else was I supposed to do?! None of us could pull you away from Ivy! You had her pinned beneath you in your grip while mumbling in your sleep! So I had to-!"

"I did _what?!_" Charon interrupted. In a split-second, however, it all made sense to him. He had desperately clung to Azelia in his nightmare, not wanting to lose her again, before she and the other pikachu and the whole crimson city disappeared in an overwhelming flash. Charon assumed that was the work of the ghosts, but now the truth was painfully clear to him. He clenched a single paw against the ground, dragging a line that gored the earth, as he hid his face from the others, his jaw clenched and grinding the teeth, his eyes shut tight. He wanted to curse aloud, break his hands against the wood of a tree, verbally and physically tear himself apart; but he knew better now. That wasn't going to accomplish anything.

"No more," Charon whispered to the soil.

Lily felt even worse than before. She inched up to Charon, trying to tell him, "No, please don't be upset, I know you didn't mean it!" But she didn't get the chance. Charon suddenly lifted his head back up, revealing an inconsolable face. She froze, fearful of the emotional torrent now ravaging the rodent's state of mind.

"Bring the others here," Charon told her, "There are some things I have to get off my chest."

All Lily could do was nod quietly. She turned to face her mate-to-be and the offspring and gestured for them to approach. Calien remained stone-faced and Ivy was quite reluctant to draw close to the raichu again, but nevertheless the two respected Lily's wishes and soon stood by her side, facing the rodent. The scar on Calien's face became more noticeable to Charon, but his eyes moved erratically regardless, not fully able to endure the collective eyes of the group.

"Botana, go stand next to them," Charon asked of the chikorita, "I know you don't like them but I have things to say to you too."

The plant-like female didn't have to understand all the words to know the importance of what was about to occur. She quietly walked around and stood next to Lily, but she avoided looking into the fox's gaze.

"You have your audience, Charon," Calien said solemnly.

"Yeah, I do," Charon replied. Then he admitted, "But now I don't know where to start."

"Do not worry about where to start. Just start."

"Pffh! Easy for you to say," Charon retorted.

* * *

High above in the canopy of the trees, two entities watch Charon's scene unfold, perched on a thick branch. They are hidden by the powers of invisibility, undetectable by mortal eyes and ears. In fact, they are none other than the Wardens of the forest and the mountain, Athan and Ida, the gengar and the misdreavus, together once more to observe the actions of the raichu in person.

"Such emotional burden," Ida commented, "It almost makes me wish he fit the stereotype more. He'd probably be happier."

"But then he wouldn't be such a good candidate, now, would he?" Athan responded.

"No, I suppose not. But are you sure you're not giving him too much to accomplish?"

"He needs a big goal to get his act together, or else he'd still be wallowing in self-pity," Athan stated, "Besides, by now I'm sure he's sick to death of harming anyone who gets too close to him."

"But honestly, Athan…a secret harem?"

Athan quickly grew defensive. "He would've thought about it sooner or later! Besides, if he goes with that idea, not only will he finally get a long-overdue release, he'll guarantee the future of the herd _and_ the forest even if the patriarch manages to kill him!"

"And what happens if the patriarch not only kills Charon, but also goes after the females who'd bear Charon's offspring?"

An uneasy silence followed. "Then it'd take an army of ghosts and mortals alike to take him down."

"And if that happened, the damage would be too great to the forest, wouldn't it?" Ida questioned again.

"Yes," Athan begrudgingly answered.

"Then it'd be in your best interest to make sure Charon stays alive, since he stands the best chance of defeating the patriarch single-handedly, right?"

"Jeez lawleez! Knock it off already with all the questions," Athan protested, throwing up his arms, "I'm not an idiot, you know! I already got someone in mind to assign to the raichu. He's a fresh, new recruit, but a simple babysitting job ought to help get him get used to things."

"Is he who I think he is?" Ida questioned with a somewhat sadistic grin.

"Agh! What did I just say about the questions?! Seriously, if you're gonna keep pulling those kinds of shenanigans I'm gonna feel entitled to cop a feel," Athan warned, "Yeah, you're smiling now, but just you wait!"

"Seriously?"

"That does it!" Athan lunged for her. Ida, however, skillfully eludes his touch by phasing through the branch, so the gengar grabs nothing but air.

"What's the matter, Forest Warden? Losing your touch?" Ida taunted from below.

"Why don't you hold still and find out?" Athan phased through the branch after her. Ida quickly retreated through the trunk of the tree they had stood upon. Then, a chase ensued around, through and over the aforementioned tree, Ida laughing amidst it all as Athan kept losing one opportunity after another to grasp her. But it finally came to an end when the misdreavus shot up beyond the canopy and into the blue of the clear sky, leaving Athan stuck at the very top of the tree.

"Hey!" Athan called from below shaking a fist, "That's not fair! You know I get queasy if I go that high!"

"That's why I became the Mountain Warden!" Ida called below. "I'm sorry, but I can't be yours yet. You have to take care of Charon first. I'll be back another time, but for now I must go back to my domain. Goodbye for now, Forest Warden!"

Ida slowly floated away, disappearing from the sky as she shrank from Athan's view as an imperceptible speck. Athan turned away from the view. He grumbled to himself, watching Charon and company alone on his perch, as the fantasies of what he would've done with the misdreavus, had he successfully caught her, playfully tormented his conscience.

**Author's Note**: If you've been following since the start, you no doubt have suffered an extraordinarily wrong wait. There is a good reason for this, however: the first draft of this chapter ended up being completely scratched. It simply wasn't going in the right direction. I felt like the events I wanted to occur were too forced. So I ended up starting anew right when I already had a chapter ready to upload. So now, nearly 3-4 months later, we finally have chapter 21. Unfortunately I can't make up for the wait in word count, but I'd rather post what I have than try to write 3 month's worth of text into a single chapter.

Hopefully this kind of interval won't happen again. :(


	22. Apology

**Author's Note**: This chapter is short, but hopefully sweet. This could be merged with the last chapter, but for now it stands on its own. It's mainly to make up for the wait imposed on the last chapter. :)

**Chapter 22**

For Charon it seemed to have gone on for an eternity, but eventually, by means of the words that practically tumbled out of his mouth, he verbally stitched together a list of apologies. To Calien, the raichu apologized for the loss of the male vulpix's eye, claiming had he been more prompt in protecting them from the zangoose the injury would never have come to pass. He also added an apology for delaying Calien's "plans."

"I'd be just as frustrated, if I were you," Charon admitted, as Lily turned away to hide her embarrassment.

"Your predicament is much worse than mine," Calien replied solemnly, "but I appreciate the empathy."

Next up was Lily. There were many things Charon wanted to say to her, but not all of them were safe to mention in public. He had to pick and choose his words carefully. The raichu settled on the following: "Lily…I'm sorry for complicating things. I'm an idiot and ought to know better."

"How marvelously vague," Calien remarked.

"Hush, Calien!" Lily was a bit too quick to snap at her mate-to-be. She understood the reasoning behind Charon's blanket apology, for she had yet to forget what had happened the night before their climb up and over the mountain. Charon was trying his hardest not to let it amount to anything. The best she could do was to return the favor. She accepted the raichu's apology without question, but not without betraying an element of anxiety in her tone. It couldn't be helped, for she feared that seeds of suspicion were taking root in Calien's thoughts.

Botana's turn came next. The apology to her proved simple enough: "I'm sorry, Botana, that I can't be the mate that you want or need. I know that kind of pain all too well. I don't know how yet, but I'll help you find the company you seek. I owe you that much at least."

The chikorita had no words to return. Instead, she remained silent as she gently nodded her head in understanding. Charon could only hope that she understood him the way the raichu intended, however. Despite all feedback to the contrary, she had been quite determined to embrace him repeatedly. It may be only a matter of time before her desire reached critical mass - all the more incentive for Charon to get a mate of his own.

Finally, it was time for the pichu, Ivy, to get her due apologies. Charon intentionally saved her for last, for the ways in which the raichu had wronged the offspring pained his conscience to no end. Those pains intensified when his eyes settled on the apprehensive gaze of the tiny youth, to the point where Charon suddenly lost his ability to speak. Mere words wouldn't have made everything right again, not in this case.

A long silence passed between the two.

As they stared at each other, the emotions buried in their minds and hearts rose to the surface, mutually exposed in the dark, olive pools of their eyes. Charon wasn't sure what Ivy saw in him, but in Ivy, underneath her fear, he thought he saw a flicker of hope struggling to survive. It was about time, he thought, that he breathed some life into it.

"I want you to be happy," Charon finally spoke. "I want you to be able to return home without having to fear your own kind. But everything I've done to you has worked against that. I've never been a father. I don't know anything about taking care of offspring; but I do know that I ought to be protecting and comforting you, instead of scaring you stiff.

"I bet you're as sick of living in exile as I am. I want to be able to live with my kind too. But I grew up in captivity. I don't know what life is like in your herd at all. That's why I need you, Ivy. I need someone from the herd who can trust me, accept me, and forgive me for my flaws. If you, the patriarch's daughter, can do that, maybe the rest of the herd can accept me too. Well, aside from your dad, but he's acting like a tyrant anyway. I'm pretty sure the rest of the herd isn't happy with him either. But if they see you return under my protection, you and I and the rest of the herd could join together to overthrow him. Then, maybe, we can live with our kind in peace. You could regain the family you lost, and I could make the family I never had."

Charon chose that moment to test the strength of his limbs once more. The pain of his wounds still hounded him, but in the course of a moment he successfully rose to all fours. He wanted to show his determination without an act of domination, for standing upright on his thick legs would have him towering over the offspring.

"You don't have to forgive me for my past wrongs. But let me have a second chance. If you have the heart to trust me against everything you've heard about raichus, then you and I can both end our suffering once and for all – in a good way. What do you say?"

In the course of Charon's attempt at an apology that eventually grew to an ambitious request for redemption, the little pichu had remained completely silent. Her sight, however, was seized by the raichu's gaze, for Charon had focused upon her with such intent as he talked that to look away for even a second would be impossible. Thus, the raw emotion behind his speech engraved its essence into her mind. The innocence that still remained in the youth seized that essence and transformed it into fuel for her flicker of hope. That flicker, in turn, exploded into a roaring flame.

In that moment, the pichu lost control. A glaze quickly covered her tiny eyes. She clamped her mouth tight and bit her lower lip, desperate to keep her composure, but the dams were already crumbling. Then she ducked her head, so that her little paws could attempt in vain to hide the tears about to burst from her eyes like salty rivers.

The course of thought that immediately registered in Charon's mind could be best and most succinctly described as, _"oh, fuck meeeee!" _At once he cried out, "No, wait, don't-!"

But it was already too late. Ivy let herself go and wailed with the force of a tropical storm. She would wail repeatedly, and when not wailing, she would sob. Charon, thinking that his words caused an ill effect, immediately fell into panic.

"I-Ivy! What did I do wrong this time? Don't be like this," Charon pleaded over the din of the pichu's crying. "You don't have to be sad! Tell me what to do!"

Charon whipped his head over to the befuddled expressions worn by the other companions. "Could someone help me out here?!"


	23. Settling Down

**Author's Note:** This one's considerably longer, as you may notice. Hope you like it.

**Chapter 23**

With the group together once more, along with the addition of another, Charon felt it wise to make sure that the group couldn't get separated again. Such thoughts had come across his mind as soon as Ivy calmed herself, and in turn those thoughts had led to an immediate solution:

"Let's get some shelter today," Charon said.

Calien questioned, "Are we going to cram ourselves into tiny holes in the ground like before?"

"No. I'm not going through that again. We're going to dig our own holes. No, scratch that- we're going to dig our own damn den. We're gonna have a tunnel that'll expand into a cave big enough for all of us. No, wait, scratch that again- why even go to all that trouble? We'll just go to Botana's place."

Charon spoke of the den where he woke up that morning beneath the weight of the chikorita. Though his memories of the den were dominated mostly by Botana's attempts to seduce him, why let good space go to waste? There were worse problems to deal with in the not-too-distant future. He promptly approached the chikorita, asking, "Is it alright if stay at your home for awhile? It should be safe now. The 'fantasmas' won't be coming after us anymore."

"Fantasmas?" It wasn't the first time Lily heard the word, but the meaning was still lost on her, as well as the offspring and her mate-to-be.

Charon responded with selective information: "Ghosts, Lily. They were, um, trying to get to know me, in their own, weird way, but they're not a threat."

"Ghosts? Out here?" Calien mocked the idea, adding, "It is probably the scent of the pear burning out your brain, for all you know."

Charon frowned. "You can believe whatever you want to believe. I know what I saw. Also, she has a name. It's Botana. Do yourself a favor and learn it so you don't sound like an asshole."

Calien scowled, but he conceded quietly.

Meanwhile, Charon's proposition had caught Botana off-guard, filling her mind with dangerous thoughts that approached the border of a vivid daydream. If there were different circumstances, such as the lack of company Charon now possessed, any male asking to take residence in her den with such lack of subtlety would've drawn suspicions of an ulterior motive – at least in the fantasies that the chikorita bred in the painful chill of loneliness. She stopped herself before she could get carried away, however, fully aware of the reality of the situation.

"It is ok," Botana blurted out, rapidly nodding her head as she spoke. "I will lead you all there." Already she began walking anxiously towards the direction of her abode.

Charon grinned. "Thanks, Botana. We'll be right behind you."

Though hindered by the pain of his wounds, he summoned the strength to follow the chikorita on all fours. Soon enough, the vulpixes and the pichu gathered closely behind Charon, keeping with his pace as Botana led the way.

"Is it really alright for us to stay at her home?" Lily asked quietly, already fidgeting in mental discomfort, "We hardly know her, and she doesn't have a reason to like us. It's like we're intruders instead of guests."

"Lily, my dear, we are exhausted and flying blind, not to mention Charon barely has the strength to move. We need a safe haven to recover before we can get on with our mission," Calien coolly answered. He went on to say to the raichu, "Though I am curious what exactly happened in our absence between you and Botana, Charon, I am glad that it is working in our favor."

Charon grumbled. "I didn't do anything to her, Calien," he insisted, "She just happens to like me…a lot."

The male fox grinned mischievously. "Are you sure you did not do anything? It certainly cannot be your personality, for you are no Casanova. Desperation must have gotten the better of you both."

"Does that mean they did it?" Ivy asked.

Charon groaned loudly. "I'm telling you, nothing happened! It's all her!"

"The weather is pleasant this morning, isn't it?" Lily interjected, desperate to change the subject.

* * *

The five of them traveled together to Botana's home, led there by the chikorita. Their trek through the forest to her den proved uneventful, aside from conversation – a rare blessing in light of recent events – but since Botana took the lead, none could see the emerging blush in her green cheeks as they drew closer. Her own memories of what happened that morning were quite bittersweet, but the more she thought of how it began, the more she thought about how it could have ended. She knew by now how Charon would react, however, so when they had reached her home, Botana squelched her daydreaming. She found herself unable to look directly at Charon, however. 

Without the threat of the poltergeists to worry about anymore, Charon and his companions got their first good look at Botana's home. The entrance was a nice, big hole dug into the side of a mound that was nestled in the company of the forest's innumerous trees. The mound would've stuck out like a fresh bump on the head was it not for the flanking shrubbery that camouflaged its presence in the woods amongst the rest of the foliage. The hole was slightly damaged from the brief scuffle earlier in the day, but otherwise it appeared quite sturdy. It wasn't possible to inspect the interior due to the darkness inhabiting the den. For an electric pokémon like the raichu, however, this posed no problem at all.

"Mind if I take a look inside?" Charon asked Botana.

The feminine plant shook her head gently.

Charon walked up to and shuffled his body through the entrance. He was able to fit most of his body inside, except for part of his tail, which bobbed and wavered like an entranced snake just outside the chamber. A small charge in his cheeks illuminated the den from the inside, giving him the information he needed.

"This den's smaller than I remembered," Charon remarked from inside, "It'll fit two of us at most, but barely," The smallness of the chamber amplified the memories of that morning to a greater degree, making him shudder slightly.

"No, it's okay, Charon," Lily responded, "We could always find a bigger shelter, right?"

"This one's perfectly fine! It just needs renovating! Botana, is it alright if we make the den bigger?"

"_Sí,_" Botana replied meekly. Anything for Charon.

"That was a yes, right? Ok! It shouldn't take very long, I promise!"

The sounds of paws clawing through soft dirt, along with the grunts of physical exertion, followed soon afterwards. As they watched the pitifully small scoops of dirt shoot out from the hole, however, Calien bowed his head and sighed.

"We will be waiting here all day if we let you do the digging in your condition. At this speed you could not outpace a diglet's grandmother!" Such was the male vulpix's declaration. It managed to make Ivy giggle a little, for she was already amused by the movements of Charon's tail. She even felt the desire to play with it like a toy, though she knew better than to do something like that.

"You're the one who said you were exhausted!" Charon rebutted from inside the den.

"Yes, but none of us have wounds as severe as your gashes. On top of that, I am sure your body still feels drugged. You need rest more than anyone else here," Calien calmly replied, "Let Lily and I move the soil in your stead. It would be good practice for when we need a den for our own plans."

He turned to the maiden vulpix with a peculiar smile on his face. It was hard to tell whether the grin was meant to be pleasant, sarcastic, or outright insidious. "Right, Lily?"

The maiden vulpix shrunk away from Calien. "Please don't be like that, Calien," Lily pleaded, "That's not like you at all."

"I am not doing anything wrong," Calien said calmly, "Is it wrong of me to expect you to prepare? I mean, we _were_ prepared, until we ran into Charon and Ivy. But no matter what troubles are thrown at us, I still intend to be your mate. Besides, sooner or later your body will prepare for it whether you want it to or not. I would rather you would not, er, be caught off-guard by such a scenario, or else things may not go as we wish it to go. Oh wait, what am I saying? That is already the case. Silly me, how could I forget such a detail? Some of my memory capacity must have been gouged out along with my-."

Lily's paw suddenly shot out, slapping Calien across the muzzle, catching the male vulpix so off-guard that he staggered to stay on his feet. The eyes of the maiden vulpix were imbued with a fiery anger, at once upset, provoked, and subtly enraged. As Calien sat silently, feeling the pain inflicted on his face with his own paw, his bitterness boiled into a similar kind of anger. Thus, they ensnared each other in glaring eyes, neither moving nor saying a word, tempting each other to escalate their moment of violence.

The pichu near them immediately grew frightened. Convinced that things were quickly going to turn ugly, Ivy didn't want to see the two of them tear into each other. Such an act was inconceivable. But if enough fury between the two of them built up to set off the streams of fire, then she didn't stand a chance of stopping them, for she was only an offspring. Neither did Botana, for that matter. The Chikorita had already hastily retreated to a nearby bush to elude the inferno that was seconds away from erupting before the foot of her home. Thus, for Ivy, only one option remained at her disposal.

Ivy dashed to the entrance to Botana's home. There, she hopped up and grabbed the suspended head of Charon's tail. As soon as she got a good grip, Ivy quickly backpedaled until the tail stretched out by its entire length. Then, she repeatedly yanked the tail with the best strength she could muster, intending to make Charon get out of the den as soon as possible.

"Get out here, Charon!" Ivy pleaded, "They're going to fight!"

The raichu at once yelped in surprise from the pain. "Agh! I'm getting out, just stop with the tail!"

Charon, at the desperate request of Ivy, shuffled backwards until his body emerged back from Botana's den. He turned on all fours with haste to face Calien and Ivy, who he expected to already be growling and bearing teeth at each other. Despite his less than optimal condition, he knew he was the only one who could break up a scuffle between the vulpix couple. Any sign of violence could be immediately squelched by his electricity, a paralyzing force nearly impossible to evade, though he preferred that to be a last resort.

However, when he laid his eyes on Calien and Lily, he found that the both of them were staring right back at Charon in shock. Needless to say, he suddenly felt like he was in the spotlight. Didn't Ivy say they were about to fight? He heard Calien's dialogue downspiral into its malicious poison, the knee-jerk bitch-slap that had followed, and the unnerving silence that felt like the calm before the storm. Why was he the center of attention all of a sudden?

"Is there something going on I ought to know about, or are you two trying to mess with me?" Charon asked, adding, "Because Ivy wouldn't be yanking my tail off unless she had no other choice. Hey, wait a minute."

The raichu soon realized that someone was missing, making him quite anxious. "Where'd the little pichu go? She didn't just run away, did she?" He scanned the premises, turning left and right, but saw no sign of her. Now it was his turn to act panicked. "Don't just stand there! Didn't either of you see where she went?!"

"She's on your tail, Charon!" Lily finally exclaimed.

"Oh. Wait, what?" The raichu turned his head to look back at his tail. Indeed, Lily was correct: Ivy was hanging on for dear life on the lightning-shaped head of Charon's tail like a little bug on a leaf in the breeze, eyes shut tight as her body dangled in the air, too scared to utter a sound. When Charon had turned around, she forgot to let loose her grip and became the unwitting participant in a dangerous thrill ride that threatened to catapult her to the trees had she not clamped even more tightly onto the tail. Charon hadn't even noticed the added weight to his tail, for Ivy barely weighed more than a pastel-colored dumbbell.

Charon gritted his teeth as he carefully lowered his tail. Ivy let go and plopped down onto the ground. She let out a sigh of relief as she fell down on her back and peered up to the blue sky, thankful to be on solid ground again.

"Ivy...you ok?" Charon asked apprehensively. He turned to face her.

The little pichu nodded, but didn't avert her gaze from above.

"I didn't mean to do that. I didn't realize you were there. I'm sorry. You believe me, right?"

Another nod.

"Ok. Good. I won't do that again, I promise." Charon turned back to the vulpix couple, who were still staring at him in shock. Botana, at this point, poked her head out of her hiding spot, checking to make sure it was safe.

"Well. Guess you two aren't going to fight anymore, with the way you're both staring at me," Charon said frankly to the foxes, "How about making yourselves useful now?"

By now, Calien and Lily both shook themselves out of their stupor. Simultaneously they quietly agreed with Charon with a simple "ok" and "alright," respectively, as they dealt with the shame of their emotional episode, so close to doing something both would have regretted to the end of their days.

"Botana and I will keep an eye out for trouble and look after Ivy. Try to put your problems aside and dig, ok? Take your frustrations out on something you can't hurt, or else you'd be no better than the zangoose."

The chikorita stepped out of hiding. She approached Charon, staying close to him for protection, though she dared not let their bodies touch. The raichu didn't pay any mind to her proximity. Instead, he pushed against his forelimbs so that he could rise to two feet, now having the confidence in his strength to stand like he preferred. There, in front of the den, with Botana and Ivy by his side, he would stand guard.

* * *

The expansion of Botana's den continued without much more trouble. Calien and Lily, despite their limited experience living in the wild, proved to be adept diggers. Such a skill for the two foxes was likely written into the innate construct of their instincts. But the advice Charon gave them also played a factor. Both desired their personal problems to be resolved in short time, and the solution to their problem was quite obvious, but the manner in which to carry out said solution eluded them both. They lacked privacy, the right atmosphere and, in Lily's case, the confidence that it wouldn't just make things worse if done sooner instead of later. Channeling such frustrations into the earth was the best they could do for now, despite how fleeting a cathartic release can be. 

The others weren't much better off, however. The chikorita, the pichu, and the raichu were all inhibited from conversation by their personal troubles that prevented them from comfortably breaking the ice, whether as simple as a language barrier or as complicated as the uncertain judgment of character, not knowing what could be said without inciting misunderstanding and the inevitable fear and/or hostility that would assuredly follow. Only the increasing hill of dirt front of the den's hole, as well as the afternoon meal along with the foxes, distracted Charon, Ivy, and Botana from such anxieties.

Such torment, though lasting for hours that felt like an eternity, wouldn't last forever. When Calien and Lily popped their heads out of the den and announced that they were finished, the three of them rushed into the den without a moment's hesitation. Charon couldn't light up the den fast enough with his cheeks, but when he did so, all in the group were filled with awe.

"Holy crap! This place is huge!" Charon exclaimed.

"_Está muy grande ahora!" _Chikorita gasped. Ivy was struck speechless.

"It is quite a feat we pulled off," Calien spoke, referring to him and Lily, "It is now quite spacious for all five of us, and there is room aside to accommodate a few more. The raichu will still have to remain on all fours, however. Also, you will have to be wary of the way the den dips down around the walls. Anyways, now we are quite exhausted."

"Not to mention filthy!" Lily added, looking down at her own fur now that Charon revealed the layer of soot sullying it, "There's not a speck of red left on me!"

"If you could excuse us, we will be heading outside to shake off as much dirt as we can. The rest will have to be removed by the collaborative efforts of our tongues. Please understand that it can be a rather…personal process, so try not to stare if you plan on coming back outside."

Charon's illumination momentarily short-circuited as a contagious blush spread to all those present.

"You know you'd have to restrain yourself," Lily made sure to warn.

"Of course, Lily. There is a time and place for everything," Calien replied, as he headed for the exit. "But at this point, I would be grateful for anything you can give me."

The maiden vulpix said nothing, for the reddening hue of her cheeks said enough. She followed Calien outside, leaving the others in yet another awkward state.

Charon grumbled. "At least they're getting along again."

* * *

After Calien and Lily cleansed their fur of dirt (a process that the others decided not to intrude upon, for none of them knew if they could handle witnessing it), the group faced, for the first time in a long while, a lull. With a place of comfort established in a forest unfamiliar and their goal lacking any leads to follow, Charon and the others felt hesitant to embark further into the unknown land, especially Charon. The time spent working on the den had progressed the day into the early evening, making the exploration of the forest to track down the chus a dangerous affair, whether by getting lost in the darkness of the woods or ambushed by more unseen hostility. They all needed a break from that kind of danger, if only for a single night. They opted to break in their new home away from home instead (save for Botana, who would be getting used to potentially long-term guests instead.) 

Calien and Lily took a spot in one half of the den. Ivy joined them, lying close to Lily's right to benefit from her warmth, while Calien made claim to Lily's left. The three of them together stood a very good chance against the midnight chill. The only real issue that came into being involved Charon and Botana on the other half. The chikorita didn't want to fight off the cold air of the twilight all by her lonesome:

"The night gets cold. Let me rest with you," Botana asked Charon upfront.

"No, Botana," Charon answered sternly, "You know that's not a good idea. How do I know you're not going to try something again like this morning? You'd just be tempting yourself."

"I would not do such things!" Botana wasn't going to let this go. "It was excitement. Now I am sane. Comfort is my desire from you. You want comfort too. I gave you home and devotion. Is it hard to give me warmth and company?"

"I'm telling you it's a bad idea!" Charon insisted, "You can't get used to using me as a damn substitute. You'd just be fooling yourself."

"Then I will be the fool. Just lie with me, Charon! I ask for no more."

"No!"

"_Por favor, Charon!"_

"Forget it, Botana! Just accept that-!"

"Charon!" Calien suddenly interrupted the raichu. "For goodness' sake, take pity on her and entertain her request or else none of us will be able to sleep! You owe her, anyway."

As much as he hated to admit it, the fox was right. The argument could go on forever between the two of them, and aside from that, Botana had given him and his companions a lot of help over the course of the day, especially when Charon was at his most vulnerable of physical and mental states. The raichu owed Botana a great deal. It would have been criminal not to return the favor.

After a long moment's pause, he spoke to Botana, conceding, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll help keep you warm. But I'm not doing anything else."

The two of them worked out their arrangement as such: Charon would lie on his side while Botana would cuddle up against his back. The chikorita could enjoy the warmth of his fur in that manner without too much intimacy, as though snuggling up against an oversized teddy bear, while the raichu's back would benefit from Botana's own heat. Such a plan of action, Charon hoped, would be enough to prevent either of them from entertaining the wrong ideas.

After some shuffling around, Charon and Botana managed to get into position. The raichu was very still as he felt Botana's body press gently against his back. Her skin felt smooth like the scales of a snake, and yet warm like the flesh of a mammal – an exotic sensation, to say the least. He tensed up as he also felt the chikorita nuzzle her face into his fur, but the action soon ceased when she rested one cheek against the back of his neck. It wasn't hard at all to tell how tranquil Botana felt at that point. Her heart beat softly against his spine and her breath blew across his neck like a warm, gentle wind.

"Goodnights" were exchanged amongst the group. One by one they entered a well-deserved slumber. Charon, however, lingered in the dark of a young night, not yet willing to sleep. Truly isolated for the first time in awhile, he found his idle thoughts focused on the newfound responsibility bestowed upon him by the Forest Warden. They were far from optimistic:

_It's all so crazy. No matter how I approach it, it seems nearly impossible to do. Taking the patriarch head-on? It'll likely get me killed. I'd probably need those other raichus the gengar mentioned if I want to even the odds, but I got nothing to get them to work with me, except Ivy, maybe. And even if I take him out, they'll probably expect me to lead the herd. I couldn't be any less qualified for that. What was the other option? Oh right, that… no, there's no way that'd work either. I have no clue how their damn ritual works, and any of those females would run at the first sight of me. Even if the Ivy's with me, they'd just assume I was a kidnapper for sure, and they'd know better than to give me a chance to talk. And even if by some miracle I seduce them, it wouldn't be long before the patriarch found out about me. Still…the future of the herd is at stake. If I can't face the patriarch, and the only way to stop him is to father a whole herd's worth of chus under his nose, then…No! What am I thinking?! That's exactly the kind of thing they did to Azelia! I'd be just like those monsters if I did that to the females…Shit, this thinking isn't getting me anywhere. It's damned if I do and damned if I don't!_

Charon took in a deep breath and exhaled. _I've got no choice but to sleep on it._

The raichu slowly let the lids close shut over his eyes. He tried to put his worries behind and focus on getting his rest. His heartbeat reduced its tempo, and his breath slowed. In moments, his mind would submerge into the world of dreams. Perhaps there he would find the answers he seeks. Perhaps there he will find the-

"Charon! Wake up!"

A sudden voice from nowhere shattered the raichu's attempts to sleep. The nature of the voice struck a disturbing chord, for he had recognized it immediately. _What the hell?! _

The voice went on, doing little to hide its impatience. "I know you're in there, rodent! You're not even asleep! Stop stalling and come outside. There's work to be done and little time to do it, and I won't let you have me waiting for you like some pathetic, lovesick puppy."

_No way. It can't be him. There's no way in hell it's him! I've got to be losing my mind!_

Charon carefully rose to his feet, leaving Botana asleep on the floor. He quickly noticed that no one else in the den appeared to be disturbed by the racket the voice was stirring up. All besides Charon were still in a state of slumber.

_Someone's trying to play a trick, _Charon suspected, _That voice just sounds too real for no one else to hear it. There might be a trap waiting for me outside…but whoever's out there might come after me if I don't act, and that'll put the others in danger. I've got to deal with this carefully._

Charon took cautious steps towards the exit. Already he could feel the cool air blowing in, but the signs of danger remained unseen. As he got closer, he slowly grew the charge of electricity in his cheeks. He began to bite his lip by the time he got to the exit.

"Why didn't we make the damn hole bigger?" Charon cursed under his breath. It was the one forgotten detail in their expansion plans. The unfortunate raichu still had to squeeze through the hole in order to get out, making any notion of a quick exit impossible. Best not to make oneself vulnerable, the wise would say. The safest option now was to goad the danger out of hiding.

"I'm here, whoever you are," Charon spoke, "But I'm not coming out until I see you."

"That demon was right. You _are_ difficult!" the voice replied. "Maybe you would've mellowed out if you were also dead."

A now-familiar purple-hued face of gas floated down in front of the exit, bearing a solemn frown. Charon finally realized it was one of the gastlies. For a brief moment the raichu actually felt relieved, recalling the "sixth sense" the Forest Warden gave him. It certainly explained a lot, and it made the raichu want to kick himself for forgetting something so important. But then the gastly spoke again:

"You can tell I'm one of the demon's minions, Charon. But you were right to be cautious: we've already met."

The voice was unmistakable this time. It was no hallucination. Charon had heard it only once before: fueling the tirades of a violent maniac that nearly ended his life, only for the maniac to lose his own at the hands of the raichu.

Katar, in spirit form, had returned.

"You!" Charon jumped at him. The gastly instinctively retreated backwards, still used to the movements he had performed in his former body, as Charon got stuck midway through the hole. He kept a safe distance floating just above the ground, watching solemnly as Charon struggled to get his whole body through the hole of the den. Several seconds passed before the raichu stood outside the den in the dark night, cackling his electricity in anger at the ghost.

"You'd already be dead if I was an enemy, getting stuck in places like that. And yet you managed to kill me! It makes my death all the more humiliating," snarled the Gastly.

"Is this the gengar's sick idea of a joke?!" Charon demanded to know, pointing at the Gastly accusingly, "You're the zangoose that tried to kill me! You gouged Calien's eye, you terrified Ivy, and you nearly forced yourself on Lily! You're the last pokémon I'd ask for help!"

The gastly peered down at Charon in scrutiny. "In case you haven't noticed, Charon, I'm not a zangoose anymore. My body's decomposing next to the burnt remains of a tree. I died, Charon! And you're the one who killed me! The agony of your electricity is burned into my memory forever. So spare me from your hatred, rodent, for I've already paid your price."

Charon's anger suddenly defused, killing the electricity in his cheeks. Memories of the nightmare in the crimson city crept into his mind, especially those involving his confrontation with Azelia. He collapsed into a sitting position, his head tilted down, as terrible feelings weighed him down. He couldn't look straight at the Gastly anymore.

"It's not like I enjoy killing," Charon answered, "It was a life-or-death decision. You would've murdered us all."

Katar went on as though oblivious to Charon's words. "A purple demon's forced me to linger here. He's made me your helper. I have to make sure you save the forest and your fellow rodents before you die. But it gets even better! You're the only one besides the demon that knows I exist. Everyone else is cut off from me, even the other ghosts! If I disobey that demon, I'll be trapped in a hell of isolation! So the least you can do is to cooperate with me. It'll make my job easier…and I'll have someone tolerable to talk to."

Charon looked back up at the gastly. "So you're being punished, then."

"It's better than total oblivion, at least," Katar replied, making a motion akin to shrugging the shoulders. Rather bizarre for a floating face of ether, to say the least. "But enough! I didn't come to you just to talk. There's a moment of opportunity almost right beneath your nose that I'm not going to let you waste."

Charon frowned in irritation at Katar. "What're you acting like such a damn slave-driver for? In case you forgot, I'm dealing with two flame-broiled holes in my shoulders. It's a miracle they're even beginning to heal. I ought to be resting instead of running about in the middle of the night, don't you think?"

"This isn't some wild goose chase, Charon!" Katar insisted, "It's a solid lead for the herd you seek. If you don't act now it'll be gone by sunrise, and then you'd have no choice but to track the herd down the hard way. You don't have time or energy to spare, so you might as well get a jumpstart!"

"What kind of 'lead' are we talking about?" Charon inquired.

Katar suddenly paused. "Well…from what the demon told me, it's best not to tell you until we get to the lead."

"Oh, come on! You expect me to believe that there's a lead just because you say there's one?" Charon argued.

"I've got no reason to deceive you, Charon."

"Sure you do. I fucking killed you! It's one of the worst things you could do to someone!"

"Taking revenge on you won't give me back my body. Killing you would be pointless. Also, the demon would be sure to punish me if I tried to put you in harm's way. You got every guarantee that I'll be your assistant to the end. So, if you're done trying to stall, rodent, shut up and follow me!"

Katar about-faced. Before Charon had a chance to speak again, the gastly took off speedily into the darkness. It left the raichu with no opportunity to think. Instead, he was forced to act. His legs seemed to move on his own as he found himself pursuing the ghost through the night in spite of the pain it caused him. The called out to Katar to slow down, but his requests fell on deaf ears. The safety of Botana's shelter disappeared from behind Charon as he plunged once again into the unknown, gambling his future on the words of one victimized by his own violent potential, now likely to bitterly haunt him forever.

_Damn that zangoose, _Charon thought_, now he'll never leave me alone. _


	24. A Test of Willpower

**Author's Note: **To those of you who wrote in concerned that that I stopped writing the story prematurely, I assure you that is not the case. I really do tend update on a monthly basis, that's all. :( Anyhow, I hope this chapter meets your expectations. Whether it does so or not, feel free to let me know what you think about it.

**Chapter 24**

"There, just beyond the bushes."

"…"

"Something wrong, Charon?"

In the moonlit night of the woods, Charon had collapsed to the ground. Katar's pace had kept the rodent on nearly a full-on sprint. When the ghost had finally stopped, Charon ended up falling onto his back as his lungs sucked in the oxygen he greatly needed. The gastly looked down annoyingly as he floated right above the raichu.

"Give me a chance to breathe, dammit!" He snapped at Katar between his gasps for air.

"Keep your voice down, you fool!" Katar snapped back harshly, yet quietly, as his eyes switch quickly from Charon, past the nearby bushes, and back, "You might scare off the lead if you make a racket!"

"What the hell is this lead, anyway?" Charon questioned.

"I told you that I can't tell you that. You just have to see."

"Why does it have to be some damn surprise?"

"Hush! Just catch your breath if you must and then take a peek through the bushes. You'll understand everything then. Trust me on this."

Katar said no more. Not much else could be said. Instead he turned away, focusing his sights on the lead, leaving Charon to gather his bearings.

A few moments pass. Charon, now with his breathing restored back to normal, lifted himself from the ground to stand on two feet. It annoys him to no end how persistently secretive Katar has been. Nothing crosses his mind that would demand such action, not for a simple lead. Thus, he is eager to get this over with. As soon as it is revealed to him, he will make a quick mental note about it, head back to Botana's den (before she notices that he is gone from her side) and get back to having some much-needed shuteye. Katar might leave him alone by then, if he's lucky.

"Just take a peek for now. That way you will know what you're dealing with before you do anything rash," warned Katar.

Charon didn't reply back. He slowly walked up to the nearby bushes, the one the ghost said the lead lied beyond. He extended two arms to spread apart a small hole in the bushes, just large enough for the raichu to spy on the lead in secret. Finally, the rodent leaned his head forward, casting his gaze through the cover of the bushes. His view rested upon the lead.

His heart immediately skipped a beat. There he saw the familiar lines of brown set against a small, yellow coat of fur lying sideways upon the ground. He saw the long, pointy ears, black at the tips, attached to the head, both laying limp. Lastly, he saw the jagged tail, colored brown at its base but yellow like most of the fur, bearing a small break at the tip, making the head of the tail look like the upper half of a valentine heart. There was no doubt in the raichu's mind the identity of the lead: it was a pikachu, it was sleeping exposed to the forest in the night, and it was _female._

_Fuck! _The raichu whirled around, preparing to make a mad dash back for the den. Before he could do so, however, Katar swooped down to the rodent and slapped a wet tongue across the raichu's face. The moment of revulsion Charon felt was quickly replaced by numbness, as he collapsed back onto the ground in temporary paralysis.

The gastly spat out the taste from his mouth. "Your soul tastes bitter, Charon, but the demon wanted me to make sure you didn't run away from this. You could at least try to cooperate. Her deep sleep ought to make it easy for you if you're quiet enough. You're lucky she didn't even flinch from the way you just dropped like a stone."

Charon looked up at Katar from the ground, his face contorted by a state of panic. "Let me go back. I'm not ready," he protested in a loud whisper, "It's too soon!"

"It's what you've been looking for from the start, isn't it?" the Gastly pointed out, "Why're you acting like a coward?"

"It's…it's been too long since the last time! I need more time to prepare," Charon tried to argue. However, both ghost and rodent knew it was a poor excuse.

"First you say it's too soon, and now you say it's been too long. That's just pathetic," Katar observed. He lowered himself to Charon's level as he continued to speak to him frankly. "You knew you would have to do this sooner or later, Charon. Rodent offspring doesn't grow on trees."

"If you knew what happened before, it wouldn't look so damn easy to you," Charon rebutted. He was growing desperate. "You weren't there! You could never understand what I went through! I'm telling you, I'm not ready for this. Let me go back, for fuck's sake!"

Katar's eyes narrowed as he suddenly grew angry. They darkened with a threatening, reddish hue, as though they recalled his former life as a zangoose. The next words he spoke were subdued, but barely, as though he was fighting off a boiling rage: "You're not the only one who lost a loved one, rodent. My dear Pata was stolen from me, to be reduced to a breeding machine. I was powerless to save her. It drove me mad until I wanted to lash out at anything and anyone, which I did. And now I'm dead because of it. So don't dare tell me what I can't understand, because to be perfectly frank, I've suffered much worse than you."

Charon returned the furious gaze. "No. You're wrong, Katar. I've had it worse. You didn't _kill _your loved one by accident. That kind of guilt never leaves you."

"But did you throw your life away because of it? Did you, Charon?"

A silence passes between them as the question lingered in the air, left unanswered. It didn't have to be answered. It disarmed the anger between them both, softening their glares, for they were beginning to understand each other.

"You don't realize how strong you really are, Charon," Katar continued. "You kept on living in spite of what happened to you, when others would've died not wanting to go on anymore. You wanted to pick up the pieces, whether you realized it or not, to get a new chance and do things right. You've shed blood, sweat and tears to get this chance. Now that chance is only a few feet away.

"You may never feel ready for it, Charon, but for all you know this may be the only chance you get," Katar concluded, "Just suck it up and take it already before you end up regretting that you never did!"

The gastly turned away. His words suddenly became gravely solemn. "You never know when you might be gone forever."

Death again! Would he never let that topic go?! It pissed off Charon to no end, but the guilt trip Katar wrought as a victim of Charon's violence proved quite effective in getting the rodent to do what he wanted. How could the raichu argue against the perspective of one who already lost everything? He couldn't.

"You're never going to let that go, aren't you?" Charon asked begrudgingly, as the numbness in his body began to seep away.

"Would you let it go if you died only yesterday?" Katar asked back, turning around to face the rodent again.

"No, I don't think I would," Charon answered. Feeling able to move again, he once more rose to stand upright on his feet. "Listen, Katar…since you're forcing me between a rock and a hard place, I'll try. But if you or your 'demon' expects me to just use her, you got another thing coming. You follow me?"

Katar sighed. "'What you do with her is your choice, and yours alone, Charon. But whatever you decide to do, make sure you can live with the consequences.' The demon wanted to be sure I told you that, Charon, before you make your move."

"Oh, thanks, that makes it so much easier," Charon spoke back sardonically. "Could you leave me alone for a bit so I can go out there without having a panic attack?"

"If it will really help you, then fine." Katar began to distance himself from Charon. "I will watch from afar. Try not to take too long."

* * *

Charon spent several minutes deep in thought, playing out the scenario again and again in his head. The more he thought about the possible outcomes, the more he wanted to run like hell from the scene. But the poltergeist sidekick the Forest Warden gave him wouldn't have allowed that. Besides, part of what Katar had said he definitely agreed with: there might not be another chance like this, not for a long while, unless he wanted to take out the patriarch first and usurp his power. Even if Charon did decide to do that, it would be much easier to pull off with the support of the herd. If he could win this pikachu over somehow…ah, but he nearly forgot about the fact that he was a raichu. That status alone could be an insurmountable obstacle. She might run away upon sensing his presence. Then he would have to keep the pikachu in place long enough to convince her that, despite his appearance, he wasn't an enemy. Ah, but he nearly forgot another thing: 

How would he act after merely touching the female after god knows how long since last?

_I…better not think about that, _Charon concluded.

He could've spent an eternity thinking about what could happen, but the raichu knew better. All this thinking was merely an attempt to stall his approach. He'd rather not have to listen to Katar accuse him of being cowardly again. Perhaps he'd know the best thing to do once he got close enough to the female.

Charon lowered his body to all fours. The raichu's steps were slow, carefully made with precision, avoiding anything that would compromise his silent approach. In this manner he circled around the bushes. He stopped momentarily when the sleeping pikachu came into his sight, this time without any flora to barricade her. She had turned slightly since he last looked at her. The female now lied against her back with her hindlegs and tail facing the raichu's vision.

_She…she has a healthy set of legs. _

Charon's eyes darted away as his cheeks began to blush. _Don't stare, you idiot! You'll just make it harder! No, not in that sense! Fuck! Just keep walking forward, don't wake her up, and don't touch her!_

The raichu stared straight ahead, doing the best he could not to focus on the pikachu's body. In this manner he began to close the distance between the two of them. At the same time, however, his heart was beginning to palpitate.

_That's right. Just get close enough so you can see her face. Nothing wrong with seeing her face, right? Oh shit, too close!_

In his efforts not to stare at the pikachu like a depraved, perverted stalker, Charon didn't quite watch where he was going. Thus, he got much closer to her than he had intended, to the point where, as he stopped, the pikachu's body lied almost right beneath him. The raichu quickly froze in place. His forelimbs flanked the pikachu's hips with only a few inches separating them from bodily contact. He suddenly found it very difficult to breathe, for he feared that, in such close proximity, the slightest sound would wake the small pikachu before him. He forced deep, slow breaths into his lungs. He tilted his head down slightly so that he could finally see the face of the female pikachu, fighting the temptation to look elsewhere upon her.

It was a youthful face. The vibrant, red spots on her cheeks against her yellow fur, along with the legs Charon had stared at not much earlier, gave indications of a young, healthy, and most defininitely fertile body. Her cute, little mouth hung open only slightly as she breathed gently in her sleep, complimented right above it by an equally cute little nose. But when Charon looked at the closed eyes, it was only then that he realized that her face was subtly stained by tears. He hadn't thought about it much beforehand why the pikachu was all alone, but it was likely that the patriarch had something to do with it.

_She looks like how Azelia was, before she died, _Charon thought. That particular thought nearly petrified him. _No! I can't break down now! I have to be strong and…wait, what was I going to do? Dammit!_

Charon had hoped a decent plan would pop into his head by the time he got that close, but the anxiety of the situation hindered his thought processes. But as he continued to stand above her sleeping body, he inevitably found himself staring at her body as a whole, for her scent, inevitably intoxicating for any virile male, began to fill his nose. It certainly made the anxious thoughts go away, but it left him toying with thoughts that were much more dangerous: thoughts, to bluntly put it, of sex.

_I…I could end my depravity with her, _Charon speculated, eyeing her up and down, _Lily wouldn't be so tempting and Botana would reel herself back if I could unwind all that stress. Maybe if I…_

Charon shook his head, _No, Charon! You know damn well that'd be wrong! But damn…she gets hotter by the minute…fuck, this isn't fair! Think of something before you go mad!_

The raichu brainstormed to the best of his ability, keeping his gaze away from the pikachu below him as he did so. He would come up with something sensible, something reasonable, but everytime he did his masculine instinct would cry something along the lines of, "Or you could just boink her til morning, you pussy!" That would toss his thought processes back to square one, allowing his sexual appetite to grow more ravenous with the passing of time. But just when all hope seemed to be lost for the male, he finally came up with an idea that would quiet his masculine instinct, at least for the time being:

_Ok, I got it! I'll get this girl to meet with my friends back at Botana's den! They'd put in a good word for me so that she'd trust me, I think, but Ivy would definitely convince her to do so! Then this girl could look after the pichu, letting Lily have the time she needs to hit the sack with Calien, which will definitely make him happy, and then maybe those two could help Botana while I try to make things right in the herd, and when this girl's heat inevitably comes around then I'll be the nearest convenient male to sate her sudden, insatiable lust, making the two of us mates and parents-to-be! Brilliant!_

_Wait a minute…I have to get her to the cave first…fuck! _

If he wanted to be sure she wouldn't run away, getting the pikachu to the den would mean kidnapping her whilst sleeping and carrying her all the way back without waking her prematurely. That ultimately meant he would have to touch her. It reminded him of the situation with the maiden vulpix in the cave, but it barely compared. _This_ predicament was in a whole other league. The temptation derived from holding the female pikachu close to his body could prove too much to handle. Then it could all come crashing down the moment he lets slip a minor indulgence, like a kiss on the cheek, or copping a feel. He could already hear the pikachu's screams of terror in his head.

_Come on, Charon, think positive. It's not like you have to hold her sensitive parts. Just scoop her into your arms and sling her body over one shoulder. Also, seriously…Stop talking to yourself._

Charon silenced his thoughts for the time being, for it was unwise to loom above the pikachu for too long. She could shuffle her body around, brush against one of Charon's legs, and then flutter her eyes open to see a rodent nearly twice her size almost right on top of her. That wouldn't go very well, to say the least.

A knot formed in Charon's throat as he began to take action. The tips of his forelimbs slid along the ground, moving a few inches until they both were near the sides of the pikachu's waist. He paused for a moment, in order to prepare mental resistance against the thrill of feeling her body. He swallowed the knot in his throat and repeatedly begged the female from his mind not to wake up. Then, at last, his forelimbs curled around the waist of the pikachu, pressing her gently against his chest in order to lift her up from the ground. At least, that was the intent, but the soft, warm, and delicate feel of her fur coat against his body froze Charon once more in his tracks.

_Dammit, this is too much!_ Charon cried in his mind. Holding that pikachu close to him was like tapping the eternal euphoria of heaven from the body of an angel: indescribably joyful. But at the same time it was like falling for the spell of a succubus. No matter how wrong it seemed, it made him want to indulge in the female more than ever now. The excitement of it all was pounding his heart with unheard-of vigor. His lust, long starved by the painful memories of his past, now roared its demands for satisfaction, morality be damned. It made him want to cry for help. The point of no return was on the horizon, and closing in fast. To go past that point now, with an unsuspecting female unable to fight him off, would mean to become the kind of monster that had ruined his life. And yet he just couldn't tear himself away. Instead, he found himself slowly lifting the pikachu's face towards his own, as his mouth was moments away from tasting her…

"No, Charon! Don't do it!"

A sudden voice from nearby scared the living daylights out of the raichu. He lost grip of the female pikachu, leaving her body on the ground as he recoiled back onto two feet, stifling a terrified cry with his forepaws. His gaze quickly darted around the premises, searching frantically for the source of that voice. It didn't take long, for the source of that voice nervously stepped forward into Charon's view. It was Ivy, the pichu, bearing the most heart-wrenching expression the raichu had ever seen. Thoughts of lewdly embracing the pikachu were promptly obliterated by the sight.

"Ivy? What are you doing out here? It's dangerous at this time of night on your own," Charon spoke nervously in a whisper. He already knew how bad the scene would've looked to Ivy.

"Um…I heard you talking to someone, then I saw you leave. I wanted to see what you were doing," admitted the pichu, tapping her forepaws together just as nervously. She knew she interrupted a potentially intimate moment and feared that the raichu would be angry.

"Oh." An awkward silence followed, for Charon struggled to concoct a believable explanation of his actions; but he couldn't come up with one that didn't label him a pervert. Instead, he purposely avoided the subject.

"So…do you know her from the herd?" Charon asked, gesturing towards the sleeping pikachu in their midst.

"Please don't make her cry," Ivy replied a little too quickly, "You'll be like my dad if you do."

"That wasn't my intent, I swear!" Charon blurted out, as he felt like a spotlight of guilt shined brightly upon him, "It's just…I haven't been intimate with anyone since…ever. And yes, I know that's no excuse. I only wanted to bring her back to the den so she could meet you. But I couldn't handle it…not when I had to hold her."

He turned away from the pichu shamefully. "You saved me from making a big mistake. I'm grateful. I just wish I had the strength I needed to stop myself."

Yet another awkward silence. The three rodents remained anchored in place, the pichu gazing nervously at the raichu, the raichu gazing away from the scene into empty space, and the pikachu between them still lying upon her back in slumber, blissfully unaware of the scene that had unfolded. No one was sure how to proceed for the longest time. Eventually, however, Charon broke the ice that had formed.

"She _is _from the herd, isn't she? So she'd know who you are?" Charon asked Ivy, turning back around to face the pichu.

"Yes," Ivy answered, "her name's Cassandra. She gets lots of attention from the guys."

"Little wonder," Charon wanted to say in response, but he resisted the urge to make that remark. Instead he spoke as such: "We're going to need her if we want to get to that herd of yours soon, Ivy. But first we got to get her to the den. So I need you to do me a favor."

"A favor?" The request made Ivy even more nervous, even though she didn't yet know what it could be.

"I want you to stay in my sight while I'm carrying her so that…I'd be on my best behavior," Charon continued, "Then I want you to sleep next to her once we're back at the den. I know you're used to cuddling up next to Lily by now…but I want Cassandra to see a familiar face when she wakes up. Something tells me she's already had a rough night."

Ivy breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently she was expecting some other kind of favor. "Ok. I'll do that," she complied.

"Thanks, Ivy. Well, we better head back before the others wake up and realize we're gone. Lily and Botana would throw a fit, that's for sure," he said with a grin, trying to ease the mood.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose so," Ivy replied. Despite Charon's attempts to lighten the mood, Ivy didn't appear any less anxious.

With that all said and done, a sensible plan was finally set in motion. With the presence of the pichu close by to suppress the mood needed for intercourse, Charon could lift up and carry the sleeping female, the pikachu Cassandra, upon his shoulder without completely succumbing to temptation. The pain he felt from the weight against his wounds killed any other possibility of arousal. Now they could move forward. They began their trip together back to Botana's den. The events of the night, more or less, appeared to be a success.

At least, that's how Katar had felt, as he quietly followed the rodents from a distance.

"Tomorrow morning ought to be interesting," he remarked to himself.


	25. Cassandra

**Author's Note:** My apologies for the ridiculously long wait. Being a college senior is busier than I have ever anticipated. However, this means that you can definitely look forward to an update in december, during the winter break. Think of it as a christmas gift. Hopefully it will be much better than what this chapter offers. :(**  
**

**Chapter 25**

_Why…why is it so dark? It was never this dark before. I can't see a thing._

_Where's the moonlight? The stars? The trees? Did everything just disappear?_

_I…I'm not dead, am I?_

_No, I can't be dead. I'm still breathing. My heart still beats. I can still feel things around me. No one dead can do any of those things._

_If I'm not dead, then what happened to me?_

_The ground feels like plain dirt. So then…I'm underground somewhere? But I fell asleep with the trees…how did I end up here?_

_Someone kidnapped me!_

_Someone's NEXT to me!_

_WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?_

A young pikachu girl named Cassandra, deprived of any understanding of the environment she just woke up in, found herself on the verge of panic. It seemed that her night just kept down-spiraling into further, utter misery. She had witnessed a terrible event in her herd that sent her running away in tears until she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Without any shelter, the pikachu had succumbed to asleep, cold and exposed to the forest, not expecting to live to see the morning. But now she was in a situation potentially worse than death. Was the warm body next to her the mysterious kidnapper that whisked her away from the woods? If so, what did it want, and why was it sleeping next to her so _intimately?_ Several worst-case scenarios briefly seized her mind revolving around imprisonment and a barbaric exploitation of her body, momentarily paralyzing the pikachu with fear. But she managed to reign in her anxiety with more assuring thoughts. For all Cassandra knew her kidnapper may have just taken pity on her and wanted to keep her from freezing…right? It wasn't a very strong argument, but it managed to uphold some benefit of a doubt.

Perhaps she would know for sure once she knew who the kidnapper was? It was only a matter of seeing through the dark. Then the decision to run for her life could be determined for sure. Being a pikachu, producing light proved to be a minor issue. She generated a small charge of electricity in her cheeks, producing a faint glow just bright enough to illuminate the mysterious entity resting against her fur. Immediately her gaze discovered an unexpected face: the slumbering, rounded mug of a young pichu, whose body rested against Cassandra's, it seemed, in an effort to fight off the late-night chill.

Cassandra immediately gasped. This wasn't the patriarch's daughter, was it!? She briefly inhaled the pichu's scent. It was! It was the patriarch's daughter! It was Ivy! What was she doing here? The herd thought she had been lost forever. Where had she been all this time?!

It was difficult for the pikachu to hold back her excitement. Rather than let Ivy continue her slumber, Cassandra gave the pichu a firm, but gentle shake. "Ivy? Ivy, wake up," Cassandra said in an excited whisper.

In a few moments the pichu fluttered her eyes open. Her sleepy gaze immediately fell upon Cassandra's face and her glow. To the pikachu's surprise, Ivy quickly appeared anxious. "Um…good morning," the pichu managed to say meekly, as though at a loss as to how to act in front of the pikachu.

"You've been gone from the herd for so long and that's all you can say to me?" Cassandra reacted in disbelief, "It's me, Ivy! Cassie! We used to be playmates, remember?"

"Um…" Ivy seemed to be scanning the premises nervously with her eyes. Her behavior to Cassandra seemed all the more incredulous. Shouldn't she be happy to see a familiar face? Just what happened to this youngling?

"Ivy, you're not in trouble, I swear," Cassandra tried to assure the pichu, gently stroking her cheek. "You'd be a sight for sore eyes for everyone in the herd. You could put a stop to…"

Cassandra's voice trailed off. She nearly lost her composure. Having stumbled upon one of the herd's most cherished treasures, she wanted to embrace the child in a hug and let loose tears of joy. But the pikachu held back, for she had yet to know where the two of them had been sleeping. The lack of sunlight proved ominous still.

Cassandra rolled onto her stomach. "Ivy, climb onto my back. I've got to get you back home."

Against all logic the pichu remained apprehensive.

"I'm scared too, Ivy, but we have to go back," Cassandra went on, growing desperate, "We have to stop your father, or else we'll all be-!"

Ivy suddenly rushed to Cassandra. Her tiny paws pressed against the pikachu's mouth, silencing the rodent's words.

"Shhh. They're still sleeping," the pichu told her.

Cassandra's heart skipped a beat. Of course! The pichu was afraid to wake whoever kidnapped them! How could she have been so stupid?! But wait…there was more than one? So then there was a group keeping both of them prisoner? But why? What would someone want from two exiled female rodents?

It couldn't be anything good, as Cassandra saw it. There was no room for mistakes against such odds. She clutched the ground beneath her as she struggled with the newfound tension.

"If we stay quiet…we might have a chance." She had to act strong now, for both their sakes. "Please…I promise we'll make it. All you have to do is ride on my back and be very, very quiet."

"We can't go."

Cassandra nearly lost it there. Her whispering got especially loud. "What are you talking about?! Why would we have to stay? Don't you want to get away from here?!"

A masculine voice suddenly mumbled from the dark, "Ugh…Charon, put out that light."

Cassandra gasped. She held her breath still and immediately cut the glow in her cheeks. At once her vision was pitched into a terrible, black void. A lapse in sensible thinking overtook her, prompting her to say in a hushed tone to the voice, "S-sorry!" Immediately she realized her terrible mistake and rose up to her hind-legs in order to cover her mouth with her forepaws. She could only pray that whoever was in the room with the two rodents was too groggy to realize her error.

"Oh…was that you, Ivy? I am sorry for the mistake I made. But do try to rest."

Silence fell upon the void. Cassandra had lost track of Ivy, and Ivy didn't seem to make the effort to stay close to her. No doubt the pichu was too terrified to move now. The pikachu could hear nothing but her breathing, complicated by the anxiety threatening to consume her. Likewise, nothing could be felt except for the quickening pace of her heartbeat, threatening to pound the organ out of her ribcage.

_I…I can't take this anymore! I have to get out of here! I'm sorry, Ivy, I promise I'll come back for you!_

Cassandra turned around, facing away from the source of the masculine voice. She stretched out her forepaws as she put one foot in front of the other as quietly as she could. Her intent was to feel her way out of that underground cave until another source of light could be found, but first she had to get to a wall that she could follow. But as the seconds passed and no wall pressed against her paws, Cassandra's fear grew in intensity. Her breathing began to stutter and heart thumped ever faster.

_Please…let there be a wall! Let me get out of this place! Please!_

However, fate saw it fit to torture the pikachu to the greatest extent, for at that moment a long, large, wiry object in the dark struck against her back as the room suddenly played host to a horrified, masculine scream. Cassandra couldn't tell if either occurrence was the male that spoke eariler, but in her predicament it hardly mattered. She, in turn, got pushed over the edge. Fearing for her life, the rodent whipped around, grabbed that object and let out a terrified shriek of a battle-cry as the shelter flashed with light from the force of her unleashed electricity. The shelter fell into chaos as all who were sleeping now snapped awake to an urgent sense of danger.

"What the heck was that flash!?"

"_Dios mio! _Charon!"

"An intruder!"

"Ivy, take cover!"

Cassandra was greeted to the sight of a fireball flying rapidly towards her. She desperately leaped out of the way with a cry, landing hard upon her chest as she did so. The fireball flew past her and dissipated into the nearby wall, scorching the earth there.

Cassandra scrambled to get back on her feet, her senses frantically seeking signs of further attacks."Stay away! Don't come any closer," the pikachu warned, trembling uncontrollably, "I'll shock you all, I swear!" Her cheeks cackled with an electric charge, expelling the darkness from the room erratically, as like a faulty strobe light. She felt like a cornered beast and clung to whatever means she had to ensure her survival. The shapes of those around her flashed in her view, only to dissapear just as quickly in the dark, adding to her terror.

"Oh my gosh! Ivy, is that-?!"

"I can barely believe it...someone wake up Charon already! There is a pikachu here!"

Cassandra remained where she stood, still shaking with fear as she kept up her electrical charge. The pouches in her cheeks began to hurt, while her emotions grew worse from the suspense. She no longer dared to look towards those in the shelter with her. The thoughts of what might happen to her, now that her escape had spectacularly failed, began to fill her eyes with the moisture of tears.

"Calien...ugh, what just happened? Something hit me real bad...I feel like roadkill."

"You certainly look like an utter mess. Just what were you up to last night? Does that pikachu have something to do with it?"

"Oh, shit."

Cassandra heard the sound of a hefty creature hastily rise up upon his feet. A moment's pause later, the sounds of cautious but heavy footsteps came to her. Were it not for Cassandra's electrical defenses, the room would've been dead silent.

"Stay away from me!" Cassandra yelled. Her eyes snapped towards the approaching entity in an effort to combat her fears, stand off against her enemies, and hopefully spot a means of escape.

But when her sight saw the towering silhouette that approached her--A silhouette that was the spitting image of the very being that had sent her running off into the thick of the woods in horror of the atrocities the pikachu had witnessed--she felt the blood drain from her face as her sense of fear suddenly jumped to its fullest extent.

The rough, masculine voice that responded to her sounded surprisingly meek. "Cassandra...you can't keep that up forever. You'll hurt yourself more than you can hurt us."

"Why do you know my name?!" Cassandra exclaimed, not yielding in the slightest. Her paranoia marked the male's tone as deceptive, with an intent to make her drop her guard so he could take her down and exploit her.

"Ivy told me last night...when I first found you. She's been with us for awhile, Cassandra. We've been helping her get back home."

"You're just making that up. It can't be true! You stole her away to use her! JUST LIKE YOU PLAN TO USE ME!" Cassandra accused with a shrill cry.

"NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE AT ALL!" The masculine voice suddenly roared.

The force behind that cry finally broke the pikachu. She sprang to her feet with a cry and stumbled away from the direction of that voice. However, she could only find the impassible earth of the shelter's wall in front of her. Now she pressed her back against that wall as hard as she could, shaking all over, digging her paws into the soil and shutting her moist, crying eyes as tightly as she could. Her terror seized her nerves, paralyzing her where she stood.

"Please...don't hurt me...I'm begging you," Cassandra spoke weakly.

More moments of silence passed. The suspense that resulted from it was nearly enough to kill her. She felt like it was happening all over again: the loss of control of everything around her, the torture of feelings of helplessness as her world fell into ruin. There seemed no end to the depth of how terrible a creature like her could suffer.

"Someone...anyone...take me away. I can't take anymore. I don't deserve this. I wish I were dead," the pikachu sobbed.

"Smooth, Charon," a voice said, saturated in sarcasm, "Very smooth. Your social ineptitude will never cease to amaze me."

"Calien...just shut up," a depressed voice answered back.


	26. Minor Details, Part One

**Author's Note:** Ugh. You don't want to know the complications that happened over the winter break. The headaches of getting paperwork done for grad school lasted much longer than expected. Then, my current semester has proven surprisingly difficult. Next thing I know, it's been nearly 3 months since the last update!

To make up for this, I'm posting the next chapter in two parts, if only to get _something_ resembling progress for this story. I know I'm horrible at keeping promises, but the current plan is to post the second part in the first full week of march and maintain something of a monthly schedule afterwards. I wouldn't stand a chance at being a professional writer if I can't meet my own deadlines. :-/

**Chapter 26**

Just as soon as the bedlam erupted did an uneasy peace return to the inhabitants of Botana's den. In this aftermath, however, a mood of anxiety remained weighing down upon them all thanks to the unforeseen arrival of a maiden pikachu. Many questions rested on the tip of their tongues for all three of the rodents, such as how Ivy knew of Cassandra, what Cassandra knew of the state of the herd, and how Charon went about retrieving her—or perhaps kidnapping her—from the woods. But Cassandra remained much too upset to talk and the pichu, reluctantly offering comfort to the pikachu, found her body nearly smothered by Cassandra's grip as the female hugged tight the offspring for that comfort she desperately needed.

On top of that, Charon, without a doubt the perpetrator of this newfound drama, appeared even worse of a mess than when he was first discovered unconscious with holes in his shoulders, but not because of the shock Cassandra gave him. No, the sorry state of the raichu stemmed from an occurrence over the course of the night that struck him with certain filthiness in both his body and mind. None of the inhabitants could pinpoint the exact nature of this filth and Charon had no intention of letting them do so.

Charon had snapped at them, as he hastily made for the exit, "I can't do anything until I get a bath, ok?!"

"But what are we supposed to do with the girl?" Calien questioned, irritated by Charon's actions.

"Just…just try to make her feel better," the raichu answered, pausing for a moment, "I know I can't do that, not in the state I'm in. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Charon, let me come. You need company," Botana insisted.

Lily shared that sentiment. "Charon, you don't have to suffer like this. Can't you let one of us help you out?"

Charon gritted his teeth. "Cassandra's the one who needs the damn help! I just need some time alone!"

The rodent turned and dashed away. Botana and Lily called back for Charon, but their pleas were ignored. For now, they, along with Calien and Ivy, were left with no other choice but to manage the mess Charon had made until he returned to fix it.

The sullied raichu quickly discovered that his energy wasn't quite up to par. How could it have been? His body still nursed the punctures Katar gave him, and only recently he experienced the most unpleasant of wake-up calls thanks to several hundred watts of Cassandra's electricity. Such weakness only made matters worse, as Charon slowed his pace to a walk the further he moved away from Botana's den that morning, especially when he realized a subtle, but important little detail that brought him to a halt:

"I don't know where the nearest water is!"

Charon kicked up some dirt as he openly cursed in frustration. "Dammit! How am I supposed to get a bath now!? I can't let her see me like this. She'll assume the worst the moment she gets a whiff of me! Then any chance to get her to warm up to me will be good as gone!"

It was at that point that the upper halve of a gastly emerged from the ground before Charon, revealing two ethereal eyes that peered disturbingly at the rodent from the earth. "Did it ever occur to you that you could ask for directions?" those eyes seemed to say.

Charon, understandably, recoiled from that pair of eyes in the ground with a shout. "GAAAH! Katar, what the hell are you doing down there?!"

The rest of Katar's ghostly form rose from the ground, now floating in mid-air as normal, solemn in tone and as unfazed by Charon's actions as ever. "Did you know that when you don't have a body you never feel the need for sleep?" Katar told him, "I've spent the past 5 hours trapped in that little hole of yours waiting for you to wake up. I was bored. Bored to _tears. _All I had to show for that tedious span of time was that little trick you just saw. But believe me, I'd much rather be sleeping."

"Cripes…is it even natural for a ghost to do that?" Charon asked, as he brushed himself off.

"Not in the slightest. You'd think you'd enjoy feeling soil and rocks pass through your flesh and bones? But I had no intention to get caught in that scene you just made. That'd only make you look insane before their eyes."

"You mean even more so?" Charon joked bitterly. He quickly changed the subject: "You mentioned something about directions."

"I know these woods like I knew the marks of my claws," Katar explained, "Getting you to the pond would be easy."

"Then why aren't we going there already!? The sooner I can clean up, the sooner I can get my act together with Cassandra!"

"Not so fast, Rodent," the ghost continued, "before I take you there, don't you think you ought to explain yourself?" His voice took on a tone of interrogation.

"Explain myself? About what?" Charon asked.

"Don't act stupid!" Katar closed the distance between their faces as he began to confront the raichu. "I can't invade minds like the demon can, but I saw enough to know what happened. You had a wet dream last night!"

The raichu's eyes popped wide for a moment before he spun around, shut his eyes tight, and clamped his forepaws down against the openings of his ears. "Dammit, no! I'm NOT having this conversation!" Charon proclaimed. At once he fell back upon the power of his imagination in order to escape to a happier place, perhaps with innocent bunearies frolicking through rolling meadows below a pure, cerulean sky. However, Katar proved quite persistent. His words repeatedly pierced through the rodent's happy place like bullets spewed at a watermelon.

"The thrill of that female's touch proved to be a bit too much to handle, didn't it?"

"Not listening! Not listening!" Charon shook his head repeatedly.

"As soon as you fell into your dreams you just couldn't help yourself!" Katar began to circle around the raichu in order to face him directly. Charon countered this maneuver by turning frantically in place away from the ghost's gaze. At the same time he tried to drown out the gastly's voice with his own.

"La la la la la!" The raichu's improvised tune hit random, ear-grating pitches, but the ghost's conviction proved stronger than his song of gibberish, overpowering the nonsensical notes as the poor rodent kept failing to escape the horribly uncomfortable moment.

"I'm not even sure I want to know what kind of sexcapade you went on in your head. Knowing the appetite all you rodents have, it'd probably make me sick to my stomach if I still had one!"

"LA LA LA LA LA!" Charon's song grew louder. Katar matched the raichu's volume with ease. To any outside observer unable to see the gaseous spirit, it would look like the rodent had clearly lost his marbles.

"And on top of that you didn't even take the time to stamp out the mess you left behind. You just ran out of there like a coward! What do you think is going to go through the minds of your friends when they notice the stain seeped into the soil?"

The rodent's change in demeanor was instantaneous. His eyes popped wide open and his song came to an abrupt halt as the ghost brought to his attention the not-so-minor detail that escaped his thoughts in his rush to get to the nearest body of water for a bath. One of his companions would only have to catch the scent, or accidentally step upon it, and then…

"_FUUUUUCK!_" Charon's cry summed up the state of his feelings with impeccable accuracy. Only a lord of infamous darkness could ever hope to out-perform the pure drama underscoring that immense curse. The next thing Charon knew, he had whipped himself around and took off like a rocket, fueled by adrenaline power. It would be difficult not to mistake the rodent for a brown, furry missile, the way he blazed through much of the fauna. His destination? Botana's den. The reason? To cheat fate.

"Charon, wait! You're not going to-! Oh, you've got to be kidding me." The hastily deserted ghost found his patience quickly wearing thin, as a vaporous imitation of a hand appeared so he could hold his face in his palm in disappointment. "And I had this big speech prepared too so he wouldn't run off like that."

Katar had no choice but to float on after the raichu, if only to witness the impending fireworks.


	27. Minor Details, Part Two

**Author's Note:** I admit this is likely not the best of chapters thus far. However, I do feel that this'll set the groundwork for a phase of the story that's been long overdue. As always, please let me know what you think of the latest chapter and the story in general.

**Chapter 27**

The absence of the raichu left a hole no one wanted to fill. That hole made itself known in the silence that burdened those that the Charon left in the den. Of course, that was only one of their burdens that morning. The sudden awakening sparked by the pikachu's fright and the raichu's apparent nightmare left everyone with a sense of paralysis. No one could go through the morning routine—to bathe, to relieve the bowels, to seek a meal to calm the rumbling in the stomach—for no one felt comfortable going outside until all the gnawing questions on their minds were addressed by the oversized rodent that instigated the morning's bedlam.

Then there was Cassandra. If Charon didn't come back in time to convince her that they were not predators or enemies, she might attempt to flee with the pichu in her grasp—a worst-case scenario of the highest degree. The inevitable chase would be sure to lead to more dangers for them all. This left no choice but to keep an eye on her for the time being. At least, the vulpixes Lily and Calien kept a close watch, sitting opposite of the pikachu. The chikorita Botana, much more concerned for the raichu, waited anxiously for his return near the exit, poking her head out of the hole to watch the wilderness and escape the tension inside her home. Cassandra herself remained where Charon left her, pressed nervously against one of the shelter's walls by her own power. The pichu Ivy still remained close to her, if only in an attempt to calm the female's nerves.

Lily made a conscious decision to lie beside her mate-to-be on his better side. She hoped that would counter the agitation that morning surely reaped upon him. Calien, however, found himself under an uncomfortable stare from the pikachu.

"I am sorry I do not have a better face, miss," Calien spoke plainly to Cassandra, "I seem to have forgotten my eye patch aboard the pirate ship."

"Calien!" Lily scrambled for damage control. "Don't listen to him, he's only joking! We're all just having it pretty rough."

Cassandra's eyes darted back and forth between the two vulpixes as they talked. She listened to them in silence, as her grip on Ivy subtly tightened.

"I figured that was obvious. I doubt she even knows what I am talking about," Calien answered back bluntly, turning to his mate-to-be.

"You're only going to scare her more if you keep that up! Now hush!" Lily snapped.

"Peh. So much for breaking the ice." The male vulpix lowered his head towards the ground, resting it against one cheek along his outstretched forelegs. "It would be nice to regain those lost hours of sleep, at least, but that clumsy oaf of a mouse more than spoiled the mood. I swear, he is a glutton for drama."

"I said to hush, Calien! You're filling her head with the wrong ideas!" Lily exclaimed.

After some hesitance, the male turned his head away from Lily and answered, "Fine, then. I will be quiet. You can deal with the girl on your own."

Those words proved more depressing than the maiden vulpix anticipated. For a moment she fell silent as the whole of her form drooped. Her ears wilted like the petals of a dying flower, betraying her vulnerability. But then she remembered the pikachu again and promptly shook it off. She turned to the fellow female, masking her pain with a smile.

"I…I'm sure Charon had a reason to bring you here. You really shouldn't worry. I admit…he is a little rough around the edges. But his heart is in the right place. He's the one that wanted to bring Ivy back home, after all," Lily told Cassandra.

The pikachu made no attempt to reply. However, her eyes were fixed on the female vulpix now, as if to scrutinize her. That was a start, at least, but it was hardly a comfort for the fire-breathing fox. She could almost feel the nervous sweat beginning to form along her brow as her smile faltered.

"Um…please don't look at me like that," Lily asked the pikachu politely, "I'm not going to eat you. I prefer greens. Honest."

"I would not let Botana hear that," Calien murmured with a smirk.

"You're not helping," Lily whispered back through her teeth. Now would've been a great time to disappear.

The maiden vulpix's eyes fell upon the little pichu close to the pikachu. _She's been totally quiet ever since we all woke up. Why hasn't she said anything?_ She pondered, _It sure would make everything a teeny bit easier right now…_

It was during this brief moment of thought that the red, furry fox felt a gentle nudge from her mate-to-be. As she turned her head to face him, she was greeted with a rather surprising sight: the male fox had quickly pushed his body into a sitting position, wearing a genuinely serious countenance. His gaze locked upon a vacant and seemingly innocent spot of the shelter, without anything worthy of note upon first glance.

Lily, still lying down on the floor, peered up to the male. "Calien? Is something wrong?" she asked.

The male fox seemed determined to keep his words secret, for he leaned his head down and brought his muzzle close to Lily's ear. "I figured it out, Lily."

A moment's pause. "Figured it out?" Lily whispered back.

"Charon…he did something he wished he had not. But he forgot what he left behind."

"What?" The vagueness didn't help any.

"The rodent had an accident…the kind most common to the adolescent."

"_What?"_ Instantly, the maiden vulpix found her mind drowning in a sea of embarrassment. Her face dipped towards the ground. Were it not for her red fur, a tint of crimson could've been seen burning brightly beneath the skin of her cheeks. Oh, the dirty thoughts that multiplied in her head from such a sterile choice of words…

Calien continued his whispering. "I am going to rub it out before the pikachu notices. Try to keep her occupied."

The male fox pushed upwards to his feet and casually walked towards the mess none of the girls had yet to see, as though he was just taking a stroll; This, unfortunately, left Lily truly alone with the pikachu. As soon as the female fox met her eyes with Cassandra's, she immediately got struck by the piercing paranoia in the rodent's gaze. Not even the pichu close to her proved much comfort now.

"Oh, n-no, it's not what you think!" Lily stammered, still reeling from what her partner had just revealed. "Calien was just whispering sweet nothings. He, um…he has a way with words. He wants to be my mate, after all. I mean…it is the season, and…it'd be my…first time…"

"Is that what the raichu wants from me?" Cassandra suddenly blurted out.

Lily nearly petrified at the question, as she struggled to find the best answer. "Oh! Um, well…I don't know, really." She found herself looking away from the pikachu, gritting her teeth. "I mean, I can't tell what he's thinking, but...I know he wouldn't-"

"Charon! _He comes! He comes rapidly!"_

Botana's cry brought the conversation to a screeching halt. An ominous feeling at once seized the lot of them. For their own personal reasons, the pikachu and the vulpixes immediately feared the worst. Ivy, in contrast, acted no different from the announcement, remaining the silent comfort object for Cassandra, leaving the true nature of her feelings in an enigma. But the way the chikorita practically sang at the sight of the incoming raichu betrayed every ounce of joy that she felt. However, she quickly realized something wasn't right.

"Charon! You have not bathed y-!"

"_Move, Botana!"_

The chikorita yelped as the raichu grabbed hold of her and nearly tossed her aside from the entrance. As she stopped the momentum upon her feet on the forest grounds, the raichu stampeded to the inside of Botana's den, as if he was on the war path. When his presence burst into the chamber like some irrational, dangerous beast, with messy, filthy fur marked with cauterized scars, the pikachu against the wall screamed and turned her back to Charon, squeezing Ivy to her body in a near-death grip.

"Charon?! What are you doing!?" Lily cried in disbelief, leaping to her feet, "You're scaring her again!"

The raichu wasn't listening, however. "Where?! Where is it!?" His eyes darted frantically around. In a panic he began to scurry about the chamber with his head low to the ground.

"Stop this right now, Charon!" Lily barked, but she was still ignored by the rodent. As Charon kept scaring the living daylights out of the pikachu, Ivy quickly found it very hard to breathe. Cassandra's grip was starting to suffocate her.

"H-help!" Ivy gasped.

Lily's motherly instinct kicked in as she heard the pichu's plea. She rushed over to the pikachu, confronting her. "Cassandra! Stop! You'll hurt her!" She extended a paw to try to pull the pichu away, but the pikachu violently swatted it back with her own paw, causing the maiden vulpix to recoil.

"I won't let you take Ivy!" Cassandra yelled at her. "I need her!"

"She won't be any use to you if you choke her to death!" Lily pleaded desperately, as she watched the pichu turn blue in the face. "Please calm down!"

Cassandra was beyond reason, however. Her paranoia had gotten the best of her, and now she didn't have an ounce of trust for anyone in the room. She was trapped in a living hell.

Charon, meanwhile, seemed trapped as well in his own little world. Oblivious to the chaos and pain that he was evoking, the mental blinders in his mind narrowed his focus to eradicating the one thing that he didn't want to explain to the others. He wanted to pretend that the whole ordeal that unfolded in his dream had never happened and that the evidence of that ordeal never existed, but he couldn't do either until he was certain that nothing remained.

Calien's voice suddenly cut through to Charon: "Raichu! Look over here!"

Charon rose to a standing position and spun around towards the direction of the male fox. As soon as his eyes fell upon Calien, he froze in place, mouth agape.

Lying at the male fox's feet was an innocent pile of dirt. He raised one paw over the pile. With a few firm presses, the dirt was flattened into the ground until it disappeared from sight.

"Go take care of the real mess," Calien told him, reassuring the raichu with a wink of his remaining eye.

It took Charon a few moments to realize what Calien just did for him. When it finally clicked, an immense weight seemed to fall off his shoulders, hopefully never to be seen again. But the expected peace that comes with that feeling never materialized, for Charon at last noticed the conflict he unwittingly sparked. The vulpix and the pikachu, in their combined, growing hysteria over the pichu, engaged in a tug-of-war for possession of the offspring. Ivy, suspended in the air between Lily's maw and Cassandra's paws, cried in pain for the two females to stop, for she somehow ended up serving as the rope as well as the spoils. But neither female intended to give into the other, not as long as they saw each other as a threat.

Charon cursed under his breath. At once he rushed to bring the sorry display to an end. "Both of you stop this! _Right now!"_ His voice bellowed like an angry god as he literally leapt into the confrontation, landing between the fighting females. Both Lily and Cassandra had the living daylights scared out of them as they fell back from the imposing raichu thrust between them, simultaneously losing their grip of the pichu. At the same time, Charon snatched Ivy into his forepaws. Now, the maidens lied sprawled on the ground, intimidated and fearful of the raichu before them (Cassandra, especially) as Ivy was now suspended in Charon's grasp. The raichu's shout had silenced everyone in the chamber, even the pichu herself. Now all eyes rested upon him, judging him, waiting to see what he would do with the delicate youth at his mercy.

The raichu gently and quietly reoriented Ivy so that she would be upright and facing him, held by the torso between his extended forepaws. The pichu couldn't look directly at him. Her head turned slightly to the right, awkwardly gazing into empty space. Charon visibly tensed up in return as he bit his lip.

It was during this quiet moment that Botana cautiously entered her den, somewhat shaken from the way Charon handled her, but otherwise okay. She stopped at the exit as her eyes fell upon the current scene, unable to escape the aura of tension that formed.

"Ivy...does it hurt anywhere?" Charon asked in a soft voice.

The pichu's eyes briefly met the raichu's before they closed as she shook her head. "No…I'll be ok."

"Did I scare you again?"

Ivy bobbed her head this time. "A little bit."

"Then I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to stay close to Cassandra," Charon admitted, "I should've realized what would happen."

The pichu's head tilted towards the ground. Her eyes remained closed as they began to swell with the signs of imminent tears. "Please…please put me down," she asked the raichu, her tone slightly quivering.

Charon did as the offspring asked. He lowered her to the ground upon her feet and sighed. "I wish I knew how to comfort you," the raichu told her regrettably. He gave her a gentle rub on the top of the head. "A little girl like you shouldn't have to cry so much."

"I'll stop crying _sniff_ when I'm happy," Ivy replied. She did not resist Charon's attempt to soothe her. The petting upon her head as she stood there seemed to hold back the outright wailing she wanted to let out of her system.

"Well…if I put your dad in his place, would that make you happy?" Charon asked.

"I…I don't know."

"He's the reason you've been so sad, Ivy. I bet he's why Cassandra is so sad too," Charon continued. He turned his face to the pikachu while continuing to pet the pichu. "In fact, I'd say that he's been a source of grief long enough. A patriarch ought to know better, shouldn't he?"

Cassandra looked into the raichu's eyes, apparently not believing a second of what was happening before her. "Why do you care so much?" she asked with sudden anger, "You're an outsider. You don't have a reason to care!"

"I figured you already noticed, but it doesn't hurt to spell it out for you," Charon replied, "For as long as I've lived in the wild I've been a loner with nothing to live for. No friends, no family, zilch. But then Ivy and I crossed paths. The reason I was so hopeless was my own fault, but I wasn't gonna let a little, innocent orphan girl end up like me. One thing led to another, and the whole thing's now huger than I ever imagined. I mean, look around! I made friends! Friends who wanted to come with me!" He made a sweeping gesture with his free paw, and then pointed at the individuals he mentioned by name. "Lily's a bleeding heart who'd been helping to take care of Ivy. Calien tagged along just because Lily did, and he's had patience the likes of which I've never seen! And Botana! Cripes…Botana's been trying to seduce me for illicit nooky and I don't even understand half the words she says to me."

Looks of uneasiness were exchanged between the vulpixes, for Charon revealed a tad more about their rocky relationship than they preferred. The chikorita merely glanced quizzically towards the raichu, curious what exactly the rodent was saying about her.

"You know what we've gone through just to get her back home?" Charon went on as he utilized his free paw for increasingly exaggerated gestures, "We climbed over that mountain. A whole mountain! We even had a brush with death when a crazy zangoose ambushed us. I ended up having to kill him! We were nearly done in that day. And now I've been hearing that Ivy's dad is trying to cancel the mating season for all the other pikachus pretty much single-handedly! I mean, _damn!_ Could any more bull be thrown in my face? I should've gone crazy already!"

"I think you're already crazy!" Cassandra exclaimed, throwing up her forepaws to the air.

"Well, that's your opinion," Charon rebutted with a shrug, "All I know for sure is that my life's never had a grander opportunity to do something meaningful. If I can pull off taking the patriarch's destructive plans and throwing them right back in _his_ face, I'd rescue your whole herd and give Ivy a good home again. And then I'd be able to start over with my own kind and make up for all the things I did that made me and my life so damn awful to begin with. Not to mention, Calien would finally get to hit the sack with Lily. That ought to make up for losing an eye, I think."

The vulpixes both at once became flustered, struggling to hide the embarrassment the rodent fueled.

"Anyway, that brings us to why you're here," Charon continued, addressing Cassandra directly as he turned away from the pichu. Ivy's head almost followed along with his paw, as if wanting to be petted some more, but instead she sat down with a sigh against the wall. At least she no longer cried.

Cassandra crossed her forelimbs, looking away with a not-so-amused expression. "Oh, no! I know where this is going. You want to use me to be inducted into the herd. You can forget about that right now!"

Charon was puzzled. "What are you talking about? I grew up in captivity. I don't have a clue how you pikachus do things out here. Did you miss the whole part where I talked about being a loner?"

"Wait…you really don't know?" Cassandra turned to look at Charon, genuinely surprised.

"Know what, Cassandra?"

"An outsider can become a member of the herd if he or she mates with one of the members! It's common knowledge!" The pikachu told him impatiently. "Then you could challenge the patriarch for his title and power. He'd have no choice but to take you on."

She turned her back to the raichu, remaining quite cross. "But I'm not letting a creep that kidnaps sleeping girls in the middle of the night have his way with me. I'd sooner let an arbok swallow me whole!"

That little tidbit of information struck the raichu hard. It struck him like a cattle prod, a taser, a two-by-four, a point-blank in the face, all of the above, take your pick, whatever metaphor could possibly equal the strength of the shock that petrified his body and dropped his jaw to the floor.

It was then that he heard the voice of Katar in his ear. "Um…the demon wanted me to inform you that he is regretful about not informing you of the pikachus' customs in finer detail. He also says, and I quote, 'but at least that should make things more interesting,' unquote."

Charon couldn't speak. He could barely even move. He could only take staggering steps to a spot on a wall next to where the pichu sat. One paw supported him against that wall and another hung limply as his posture slouched so far forward and down that the top of his head pressed against the dirt in front of him. If the pichu had looked up to his face, she would've seen an expression of utter dismay perfect to accommodate a blood-red skyline.

"You wouldn't happen to be willing to do it for the sake of the herd, would you?" He asked weakly.

"Nope!" There was no hesitation or second thoughts in Cassandra's reply.

"Oh…then we'll have to find another way."

"No doubt!" Cassandra confirmed.

Calien sighed. "You could be less blunt about it," he critiqued to the pikachu.

Botana trotted over to the raichu's side, telling him, "You still have me, Charon. Be not so sad!"

The raichu responded with a groan of despair.


	28. The Scene at The Morning Bath

**Author's Note: **I think it's about time this story had an update, now that life has finally settled down. My apologies for those who have waited for so long. I don't know if this chapter lives up to your expectations, but I can at least assure that the updates in the future will be much more frequent. If nothing else, I will always hold to the promise that no story I post to the public will be abandoned to stagnate forever.

As always, I appreciate your thoughts and reviews. Whatever critique can help keep this story on track is most welcome. Writing can be challenging when the only editor and critic immediately available is myself.

**Chapter 28**

_SOMEONE GET THIS PSYCHOPATH AWAY FROM ME!_

_You think YOU are the only one suffering? None of us can sprout legs and run from the crazy meatbag either, you know. You're just gonna have to take his crazy ramblings like the rest of us._

_B-but listening to his rat is destroying my faith in the animal kingdom! I'm just a sapling! I'm SUPPOSED to have happy, healthy childhood! WAAAAAAH!_

_You're gonna find that few of us grown-up trees hold our walking meatbag neighbors in high regard, kid. Grow some bark already! Besides, haven't you been listening to the grapevine lately?_

_The what?_

_Sheesh, were you planted yesterday? It's only the biggest source of news ever for trees. Don't you remember the other crazy rat? The one that toasted the elder tree? _

_No, not more psychopaths!_

_Don't get your branches in a bind! The ghosts are planning to use that dude to prune Mr. Abstinence outta these woods. Yeah, they're both crazy, but at least one of them has enough sense to try to get laid. He's already got the hots for one of the females that patriarch's terrorizing, so he's got every reason to play Mr. Action Hero. He'll save the herd and finally snag a chick for himself._

_B-b-but isn't that the same rat that nearly did nasty things with one of our cousins?_

_Yes, but that's quite understandable. She'd be a fine little flower to pollinate, if you know what I mean. Heh heh heh!_

_EWWWWW!_

The first thing Charon needed, more than anything in the world, was a bath. So delayed it had been by the drama that had unfolded that the rest of the group unanimously agreed to head out and get it over with. Now that the perception of hostility and evil had mostly withered from Cassandra's eyes, the pikachu agreed to direct them to the nearest body of water with some reluctance. While she didn't see Charon as a serious threat anymore, her opinion of his character was far from admirable.

"How come you didn't get a bath the first time you left that hole in the ground?" she had asked the raichu.

"Well…" Charon couldn't tell her about _that._ "I couldn't find any water to bathe in, so…I came back to ask for directions."

"I'm surprised you didn't get lost finding your way back," the pikachu remarked mockingly. Charon could only grumble in defeat.

The walk to the water proved uneventful, save for one aspect: the pikachu firmly kept up her guard. Although she led the group at the front, she had insisted on keeping Ivy by her side. Lily, not one to let her role as a caretaker be so tyrannically usurped, also insisted on keeping the offspring by her side as well. With neither willing to compromise, the two maidens and the little one ended up walking together as a row of three, one eye on the path ahead and another glaring contemptuously over Ivy's head at each other. Calien, left by his lonesome, quietly followed the trio close behind them, shaking his head at the petty rivalry for custodial rights over the pichu. Charon, relegated to the back with only the yearning chikorita and the solemn gastly for company, was left to simmer in his frustrations.

Part of him wondered if he would've been better off not letting the opportunity to claim Cassandra's body slip from his grasp, but he knew far too well that it simply wasn't the right time. _Nothing good would've come from it, _he had thought, _Cassandra would be devastated. Everyone would hate me and it wouldn't have done anything worth shit about that damn patriarch. And what would I have gained? Little more than what I'd get from jerking off. Gah, At least Katar isn't preaching to me about it._

Upon reaching their destination—a modest pond some distance from Botana's home—the group nearly exploded with the joy of salvation from their filth. This pond, left untouched by wind for the moment, stood calm and devoid of waves, oblivious to the animals soon to disrupt its tranquility.

"It's about time we got a bath. Come on, Ivy!" Cassandra stole the offspring away in a sprint as she hastily charged across the shore towards the awaiting water. Ivy yelped in surprise as she was snatched from the vulpix's side like free candy in a kindergarten class.

"HEY! Wait for me!" Lily immediately protested. Not caring that the water would weaken her strength, she took off in equal haste after the two rodents. Water splashed everywhere around the three of them as they cut a straight line into the pond, not stopping until the water rose up to Ivy's waist. It was at that point the three females came to a dead stop and realized they had overlooked an important detail about that body of water: it was perfect for members of the polar bear club, which was a nice way of saying that the water was _really damn cold!_

Charon, Botana, and Calien looked on from the shore with pity as the three females shivered and chattered their teeth in unison. Cassandra and Ivy gathered close against the vulpix for her significantly greater heat, nearly smothering her for a warm escape.

"You s-s-shouldn't have run like that," Lily scolded the pikachu.

"S-s-stuff it will y-y-ya!" Cassandra shot back.

The raichu sighed. "I've forgotten how cold morning water can be," he remarked, as he walked on to take his bath, "Might as well grin and bear it."

The large rodent waded into the chilling water, opting not to make as much of a scene as the girls had done. Botana, as expected, followed the rodent closely. He did not reject her company, but he remained alert in case she attempted to cross the line. As the water flowed over his feet, however, he realized that the male vulpix wasn't joining him.

Charon turned to question him. "What's the problem, Calien? The water's cold, but it's not going to kill you."

"Someone has to stay on guard," Calien stated, sitting alone at the shore. There was no haughtiness or paranoia in his tone. Rather, he stated those words with the acceptance of one who has endured too many a storm.

The gastly, Katar, floated by Calien's side without the fox's knowledge. He silently casted a gaze upon the male vulpix that couldn't decide whether it was pity or outright mockery. Calien felt this gaze upon him, sending shivers down his spine.

Charon did his best to ignore this. "When I'm done, we can trade places," he assured Calien, turning away to tend to his bath.

The raichu was hesitant to approach the three females further into the pond. Instead, he splashed the chilling water upon his body by his lonesome closer to shore, save for the nearby chikorita who quietly stayed close for warmth. He scrubbed the filth away with his paws as he watched Lily, Ivy, and Cassandra tend to their own dirtiness. His mind worked on deciding his next course of action. In his attempts to concoct the perfect plan to rescue the pikachu herd (and the forest along with it,) he realized he needed more information from Cassandra to have anything resembling a sensible plan. But every time his eyes fell upon the pikachu bathing in the pond, the mental equivalent of a neon sign flashing 'SEX" quickly derailed his line of thought. He'd quickly turn away in embarrassment, sometimes with the pikachu glancing uneasily at him, only to repeat the cycle over and over again.

"He's eyeing me like a prize," Cassandra whispered to Lily with unease.

"He'll behave," Lily tried to reassure.

Charon's mind bounced back and forth between the two subjects, trapped in a deadlock. There seemed to be no end to that futile exercise. Those thoughts, however, literally washed away when Botana, craving a bit more attention from the object of her affection, playfully dumped a bucket's worth of water upon his head with her leaf.

Charon yelped and sputtered, "Aghffpf!" In his initial shock he spun to face the mischievous prankster with eyes that popped wide open. The chikorita giggled at him.

"You are cute when drenched, Charon," she remarked cheekily.

As water dripped all over him, the raichu felt something click inside his brain. He immediately found himself doing something he hadn't done in a long time: break into a fit of laughter. It seeped out of his mouth in a low chuckle at first, quickly gaining momentum into a nearly uncontrollable outburst. All eyes fell upon this scene, slapping the rest of the group with hopeless confusion, Botana most of all. The line between joy and psychosis proved more often than not to be thin.

And then, the raichu made a sudden declaration to the chikorita: "Two can play at that game!"

"Eh?" Botana's response betrayed even more confusion, with no small thanks to her language barrier. The pear girl didn't have a clue where this scene was about to be headed.

Without warning, Charon snatched Botana into his grasp. Her deeply harbored fantasies had only a moment to be cruelly teased, for before she could squee at the thought of finally seducing the raichu, Charon proved to have other things in mind. The raichu lifted the chikorita's green, stumpy body high above his head, right before he made a beeline dash to deeper water.

Charon cackled with glee as he ran. His sprint violently sprayed water everywhere in his wake. He drenched Lily, Ivy, and Cassandra as he passed them by (despite their hasty attempt to escape such a fate.) Cries erupted in pandemonium from all the females present, especially the chikorita on the raichu's impromptu thrill ride as the air rushed past her face. And then, Charon threw her like a soccer ball.

"_Dios miiio!" _Botana yelled as she soared through the air. Her flight was short-lived as she belly-flopped into the pond with a splash, submerging the whole of her body before her head popped out of the water's surface with a gasp. Only her head and the leaf upon it could be seen above the water as the chilling temperature seized her body.

Charon hunched over, waist deep in the pond, as he broke down into even more fits of laughter. To say that Calien, Katar, and the two surrogate caretakers were mortified was something of an understatement. Ivy, however, remained silent and shy.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Cassandra shouted. She at once snapped at Lily nearby, holding the pichu close to her. "I don't care how much you vouch for him, that guy's freakin' nuts! Give me one good reason I shouldn't be running with Ivy right now. One good reason!"

Lily stood there before the pikachu, soaked and miserable. Charon's laughter continued to ring in the background as she struggled to perform even more damage control. "Cassandra, he's been through an awful lot. Please, don't judge him so quickly. He does want to help. It's just-"

"He has been doing so much for so vaporous and uncertain a reward that it is a clear test of his stress tolerance, if not his sanity. I certainly can relate," Calien chimed in from the shore.

"You're not helping, Calien!" Lily shot back irritably.

"So you're blaming me for him having a few screws loose!?" Cassandra exclaimed at the vulpix.

Lily hesitated to give a definite response. "I'm sorry, but you must know how desperate he is!"

"Yes, it is rather sad when mating a plant is more likely to happen," the male vuplix quipped.

"Calien! Shut up already!"

Cassandra threw up her paws. "I can't believe you're serious! You ARE blaming me!"

At that moment, Charon's laughter quickly morphed into exclamations of pain. His body had finally caught up with his mind to remind him of the terrrible state of his wounds. "Agh! My shoulders!" The raichu promptly fell upon his back as his paws crossed over his chest to grab at the most painful spots.

Cassandra shook her fist at Charon, fed up already with arguing with Lily. "Serves you right, you big oaf! All you've done is make a mad ruckus out of everything! And why in the world did you do that to her?" She pointed sharply at Botana. "Look at that poor girl. She's close to bawling her eyes out enough to make this place a saltwater pond!"

The pikachu was right on that observation. The chikorita was already whimpering with a quiver in her lips as she walked with shivering steps towards the raichu, escaping the deeper water. As that water lowered to her belly, her bare skin glistened with moisture.

"_Tengo frio, Charon." _Botana's pitiful tone was like a lover betrayed.

Charon groaned from the ground. With the rush long-gone from his system replaced by cold, harsh reality, his demeanor was far more reserved. "I only meant it in fun," he explained to both of the females, "It wasn't supposed to hurt."The raichu carefully rose back up upon two feet, cautiously avoiding further stress to his shoulders. "I haven't had any sort of fun like that. Not since I was a pichu. Guess the excitement got to me."

At that moment, Charon closed the distance between the chikorita and himself. "Let me make it up to you," he told her, as he wrapped his paws around Botana to hug her against his chest. The chikorita's face pressed against his fur, fresh and clean from the bathing. She could do nothing but stand petrified with a palpitating heart in his subtle embrace.

The raichu's actions quickly disarmed the renewed hostility Cassandra had against him, as well as assuaged the concerns the others had for his sanity. Lily breathed a sigh as she turned to the shore to place her paws on dry land—but not before encouraging the pichu to come along with a gentle prod of her muzzle. Ivy inexplicably harbored a crimson tint in her cheeks, her eyes looking back at the raichu, as the two females departed from the unfolding scene between the two grown rodents.

The pikachu, with her focus strictly on Charon now, wasn't so quick to let her paranoia go away in whole. "You're lucky she's easy to please, but it'd take more than a hug to change my mind about you," the pikachu warned him.

"I could start by saving your herd," Charon replied, maintaining his hug upon the chikorita as she began to coo, "I'm sure that'd earn me those brownie points; but if I'm as big an oaf as you say I am, You're going to have to help me with that plan."

Lily shook herself dry upon the shore, much to Katar's disdain. She and her mate-to-be quietly changed posts, allowing Calien to bathe and keep an eye on Botana, Charon, and Cassandra in silence. The gastly followed closely, for he knew Charon was navigating a dangerous minefield.

Meanwhile, the raichu's request left Cassandra uncertain as to how to proceed. The chastising behavior she reaped upon the raichu now submitted to newfound anxiety. She bit her lip as she realized she would rather run away from the crisis of her herd rather than attempt to find a means to correct it.

"Drawing a blank?" Charon asked.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "I never gave it much thought, okay!?" she snapped, turning her back on him to simmer in her frustration. "I wouldn't know where to start. There's just so much wrong about my herd right now...I don't have a clue how to fix it."

Botana rubbed her face into Charon's chest, indulging in the intimacy with a goofy grin. She shared the same mindset as a kid in a candy store.

"Well...we could start small. Is there anything I could do about what made you run away crying last night?"

Charon, along with the rest, had yet to know about the incident that left Cassandra so vulnerable in the twilight of the woods; but the mere mention of it made the pikachu become even colder than the pond.

"I...I almost forgot." The pikachu's voice grew faint. Her experience that night began to play again in her head, bringing the pain of that incident back into her conscious.

Katar floated by Charon's ear. "Don't press too hard, or you'll break her," the ghost whispered. The warning made Charon pause as he worked out the best words to use to prod the pikachu's knowledge a little further. The lake's surface laid flat as most held still in their places, anxious to see how the scene would play out. Botana was the exception, for she was lost in the bliss she found in pressing herself affectionately against the raichu.

"I was so close...so close to getting what I wanted. And then the patriarch had to steal him away!"

Cassandra suddenly shrieked as she repeatedly pounded the lake, erupting the water surrounding her and disrupting Charon's thoughts. "I hate him! I hate him! I wish he was dead!" The pikachu poured out all her frustration and hatred upon the water, abusing it violently. Charon and the others, even Botana, who forced herself away from Charon in light of Cassandra's breakdown, couldn't bear to look away as the female continued to pummel until she was slowed and brought down to all fours by exhaustion. The pond did nothing but reflect the revived despair in her face to her gaze. It quietly accepted the tears she went on to shed.

Charon gritted his teeth. _Dammit..._

It was at that point Katar floated in front of Charon's eyes, intercepting the rodent's view of Cassandra. "Charon, there is something you should know. The demon's minions have been watching the rodents closely. They saw what happened. They also know where the patriarch took her mate-to-be."

"At what point were you going to tell me she already had a boyfriend?" Charon whispered angrily.

Katar paused. "The demon was expecting you to be more...aggressive. Had you taken her last night, there would've been at least one offspring in the herd's future."

Charon could only glare. "Your warden's a manipulating prick," he whispered back.

"And I'm his messenger and slave," Katar replied bitterly.

"Charon? What are you doing? She's talking to you!"

Calien's voice snapped the raichu's attention away from the gastly. Concerned gazes had fallen upon him again, for it appeared he had gone into an inexpicable daze before them, whispering gibberish below his breath. Cassandra was directly facing him now, looking up at him. She was wiping the tears out of her eyes and cheeks.

"Sorry...sorry. I was thinking, I didn't mean to ignore you," Charon blurted out, silently cursing the ghosts inhabiting the woods, "What was it you said to me?"

Cassandra repeated herself: "I said we need to find out where the patriarch's taking all the guys. We've got to rescue them from that bastard before it's too late."

A question immediately came to Charon's mind, and he put it out without much hesitance: "Cassandra, what about the females?"

The pikachu narrowed her eyes. "They're scattered and hopeless...and some of them are in their heat. I can't trust you to go to them without you aiming to take them. You snatched me away without much of a thought, remember?"

The raichu frowned. "We need all the help we can get. I'll rescue the males, but you've got to get the rest of the herd together, Cassandra. We're not going to end this crisis until we can all stand against the male responsible. You've got to believe me: I'm not going to mate with anyone until we know the herd can have a future."

He pointed to Lily and Ivy. "Let them help you."

"Wait, what?" The maiden vulpix was surprised by the suggestion, but immediately afterwards she was booming with enthusiasm. "Of course! I'll help out! Anything to help Ivy have a home again! That sounds good to you, doesn't it Ivy?"

The pichu shyly nodded.

"Well, there you go, Cassandra," Charon went on with a grin. "You're willing to do this for me, aren't you?"

The pikachu, seized with conflicting reasons, couldn't decide upon her answer for what felt like an eternity in her mind. But then, she finally responded: "Okay...I'll do it. I'll get the girls together. But if you've got a harem on your mind, you've got another thing coming! I'm serious!"

Charon sighed. "Note taken," he replied back, "Then Botana, Calien, and I will go rescue the males."

"Eh?" Botana, yet again, had no idea what she was about to be swept into, as she cocked her head in further confusion.

"Wait a minute!" Calien objected, "I am also willing to help, but you are separating me from my mate-to-be. Should I not go with them to ensure they are protected, at least, especially Lily?"

"I'm not some damsel in distress, thank you very much!" Lily rebutted, "I've got as much of a flame as you do. Charon's the one who needs help. He's in a far worse state than we are!"

"Yes, but at least he still has good depth perception," Calien remarked.

Lily held strong. "You're not going to win this one, Calien. You're going with the raichu and that's final!"

The male vulpix grumbled. "Yes, dear, whatever you say...anyhow, Calien, what of the pear? Would it not make sense for her to go with the rest of the females?"

"Well...normally, yes," Charon admitted, "But I have a feeling she'd sooner drown in this lake than be separated from me. It can't be helped."

Botana continued to glance at the vulpix and the raichu, in the dark about most of the conversation.

"It's settled, then," Charon confirmed, "We'll spend this day getting the herd together again. The females will go to Botana's home and the males will come to this pond. We'll bring the two together before dusk. And, it goes without saying that we can't let the patriarch catch on. I don't doubt he'll want to kill us.

His eyes fell upon Ivy. "We have his daughter. Her return ought to bring back some hope. But don't let her father know she's here. We don't know what he would do."

The pichu's gaze held straight down to the ground, refusing to lift up her head.

"Let's be off," Charon concluded, "And end this tragedy."

Quiet nods were shared all around. With a plan and a deadline set in stone, the two groups went about their separate ways. Cassandra led one group, with the herd's most sacred treasure as her rallying call and the maternal dedication of the maiden vulpix as her shield. Charon led the other, backed by fire, flora, and the hidden networks of the dead. Both embarked on an expedition with their respective company to seek out the members of the rodent herd. As of now, they were all divided and weak. But if the raichu and the maiden pikachu succeeded in their quests, their renewed strength as a united community would be enough to overthrow the patriarch's destructive reign.

At least, that was their hope.


	29. The Hole

**Editor's Note:** No excuses this time. I just suck at updates. :(

The sad thing is that this chapter would probably be better if I didn't have a habit of leaving the story alone until weeks have already gone by. I can only hope that the end result as it stands is satisfactory. But you need not worry about the story as a whole, for it will come to its conclusion. Just not in this chapter. :)

At this point, promises appear to be very empty, coming from me. For that I apologize. At least I can guarantee that I will never abandon this story. I owe that much to those who enjoy this work. For all its flaws, the story's reception has been overwhelmingly positive, and for that I am thankful.

As always, leave a review if you wish. No matter how long it takes, my aim is always to improve.

**Chapter 29**

The brisk freshness of the morning air grew warm from the overhead sun. Time had traversed into the afternoon. Four companions traveled together along the ground of the woods as they embarked on their dangerous mission. They mustered the courage they could, for the numerous trees and the beds of flora could prove treacherous, encompassing enemies unseen.

Taking the lead was Katar. The apparition, tuned to the knowledge of the woods and the dead, led a path to the group's destination. He was silent and solemn for much of the trip, focused solely on the task before him. Following the ghost's lead was Charon, who tried his best to ignore the lingering pain in the wounds at his shoulders. He, being the only one able to see Katar, directed the other two down their path in turn. He eyed every hiding spot, half-expecting the terrorizing patriarch they conspired against to leap out with murderous intent. His paranoia would only be greater if he were able to hear the gossip and murmuring of the trees. Close to Charon's side was Botana, oblivious to the danger. The chikorita leaned against Charon, the object of her affection (who gave up keeping her distant long ago) as if the two were on a peaceful, romantic stroll in the forest. She even hummed a happy tune to herself in her bliss. This left the last of the party, Calien, trailing close behind. He grew somewhat irritated, for as far as his one good eye could see, Charon was traveling aimlessly.

"How do you know where we are going is the right way? You can barely call this a path, and there is no scent to follow," Calien questioned.

Charon didn't turn back to him. "Would you believe that a ghost's showing us where to go?"

"I would most definitely not."

"Too bad, then! Believe what you want, but that's how it is."

"I find it hard to believe that the dead would care about what happens to the living," Calien remarked back.

Katar took no notice of the conversation, as far as the raichu could tell. Charon, however, felt compelled to argue, if only to pass time. He would turn his head to speak over his shoulder from time to time. "What, you think the dead would drop everything and not give a damn?"

"They have already lost everything. All they could really do is sleep until their bodies are consumed."

"Not looking forward to death, huh?"

"I would when I'm old and weak, but I do not intend to die before Lily and I make our family."

Charon sighed. "But Calien, that almost happened two nights ago. You'd miss her for sure. She's bound to miss you too."

The vulpix held fast to his belief. "So much can happen if this or that did not go here or there. I could ponder all day what I would be doing right now if Lily and I never crossed paths with you. I could wish that my plans all clicked in place. But that accomplishes little. No, my thoughts are to the future, when this crisis is over and nothing stands in the way. Mark my words, Charon: Lily and I will be together. We will have a day to ourselves that I am sure we will cherish."

"You mean like a day of endless bonking?" Charon teased with a crack of a grin and a chuckle.

Calien burned redder than the color of his fur. He argued, "I would be entitled! Do not tell me you lack the same plans with your own kind!"

Katar would bite his lip if he still had the body to do so. He continued on to lead the pack, regardless. For once, he was thankful to not be easily seen by mortal eyes.

"Plans? What the hell are you talking about? Even if we manage to pull this off, that doesn't mean I have someone lined up like you do. Well, aside from you-know-who…" Charon glanced at the chikorita apprehensively. "…but that doesn't count."

Charon shook his head. "I'm seeing it already. Cassandra's probably going around telling the girls how much of a freak I am."

"I have my doubts, Charon," Calien replied, "They need you in order to turn things around. Granted, you did not meet her in the best of circumstances, but I think she is smart enough not to jeopardize our mission. You could argue they would owe it to you for saving their herd from doom. Besides...in the off-chance that one of them fantasizes over aggressive, burly, foul-mouthed loose cannons, you would be the perfect fit for them."

"Gee, thanks," Charon answered back sarcastically.

It was then that Katar suddenly interjected. His words could only be heard by Charon alone: "There are more pressing concerns, Charon. The demon wanted to know what you planned to do once you got the whole herd together."

Charon almost stopped walking, as if he was a deer in headlights. "I haven't thought that far ahead," he anxiously admitted in a whisper.

"You will need one soon, because we are almost there," Katar informed, "He says you could always try his secret harem idea."

"Tell the Warden to shove it," Charon whispered back.

Katar chuckled.

*****

"Ivy! She's alive!"

"Keep your voice down! HE doesn't know."

"He doesn't?!"

"Shhh! You want to announce it to the whole forest?! We can't let HIM catch on. You know what he tried to do and you can bet he'll try it again!"

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry."

"Good. Now listen up. The patriarch's screwed up everything for long enough. We're going to turn the whole situation on its head. Bringing his daughter back to us is only the start."

"What? How? No one's able to fight him. He's too strong!"

"You think it's still just us? Ivy brought help."

"What? Really? You're joking, you must be."

"No way this is a joke, girl. Why do you think that fox is following me? She and her love buddy would roast anybody trying to hurt the kid. But she's not the only one. You know that green gal no one can understand? She's helping too. You know the patriarch can't shock someone like her so easily!"

"But he could pummel them both into a pulp."

"Not a problem! Ivy also got the biggest, baddest raichu you'd ever see walking these woods. Came from way over that mountain, he did. He'll put that patriarch in his place."

"But he drove away all the other raichus..."

"He's not like the rest of them. He makes all those other raichus who ran out on us look like babies! I'm telling you, this guy can kick butt. Would I lie to you about that?"

"Why would he care about us, Cassandra?"

"Why do you think?"

"..."

"Duh! What else would he be here for?"

"He wouldn't be risking his life for that if he didn't think he stood a chance…"

"...Hey, what's that look for?"

"Oh, nothing, I just never expected you to-"

"Hey! HEY! Shut your piehole! That's not what's going on at all!"

"Whatever you say, Cassie. As long as you know what you're getting into. Wouldn't THAT be an interesting evening!"

"Dammit! Shut-up-shut-up-shut-up!"

"Ow! Stop hitting me!"

*****

"Just how many of them are down in there?" Calien questioned.

"That's what keeping all the males trapped? A damn rock over a hole in the ground? This is _bullshit!_" Charon exclaimed.

The three companions and their ghostly guide peered from a hiding spot from behind one of the forest's trees. A few yards away stood a gray, jagged boulder. Though not obvious at first glance, the rock covered a lightless, claustrophobic prison where the male pikachus that dared to fulfill their instincts in defiance of the Patriarch's law were thrown in and left to suffer. There was no telling how many were trapped or how deep the hole went down. Regardless, the utter simplicity of the whole situation genuinely pissed Charon off.

Charon shot out of the hiding place, dashing to stand beside the rock. He turned to face his companions as he thrusted an accusatory point of the finger at the boulder. "I could think of a hundred pokemon who wouldn't break a sweat crushing this rock into gravel. On top of that, the pikachus could've dug their way out. This is nothing! How the hell were things allowed to get this bad?!"

Calien stepped out from behind the tree towards Charon. "The morale amongst them is likely too low to plot an escape. Also, we may perhaps be amongst the first outside of the herd to care."

"There's more to it than that," Katar interjected, materializing in front of Charon. The rodent immediately jumped back in startlement.

"Dammit, Katar! Stop doing that!" Charon snapped.

"Oh, it's your ghost again?" Calien questioned with amusement.

Botana quietly crept out from behind the tree, following the rest. She was staring at the rock the others stood beside with eyes that began to well up with emphatic tears.

"Shut up and listen to me! You should know more than anyone that there isn't always someone to swoop in and save the day," Katar snapped back, "It is especially true for the yellow ones. There are no creatures with the strength you speak of in these woods- merely woodland critters. The one exception you already killed, so you're out of luck in that regard. At this point, only the demon could summon the strength to whisk that boulder away, but it wouldn't amount to anything if the Patriarch could easily capture them all again. No, moving the boulder wouldn't make a difference, not unless the one who put the males under there in the first place can be dealt with."

Katar's words stole most of Charon's bark. His stature seemed to droop with depression from every sentence until his ears wilted to the sides.

"I wish you weren't right," Charon said softly, "But you are."

The change in Charon's mood evoked concern in Calien. "What did the ghost say to you?" He asked.

"The short version? That the world couldn't care less what is right or fair," Charon answered. He turned to face the rock that imprisoned the males of the herd. He took in a deep breath. "We're the only ones right now that can do anything about this. Let's not waste more time."

He got up close to the boulder, taking hold of it by the paws.

"Um, Charon," Calien inquired, standing next to him as he peered up to his face, "I understand that we should get them out as soon as possible, but should we not come up with a plan? You are not exactly-"

"I don't really give a damn what they might think of me at this point," Charon cut off, "Now, are you going to help me or not? I can't move this alone with the way my shoulders are."

Calien sighed. "Very well. But you know I would barely match even half your strength."

"Shut up and push already!" Charon snapped.

The two of them combined forces, pushing on the same side of the rock together in order to spring their jailbreak. Charon focused at the top, while Calien pressed the top of his head at the bottom. While Charon didn't expect that moving the boulder would be a cakewalk, the resulting strain on his shoulders proved excruciating.

"This bastard weighs a ton!" He cursed through gritting teeth.

His muscles grew unsteady as the pain began to flare up in his wounds. It would only take a few more moments before it all proved too much for him and Calien. The rock barely moved an inch, standing proud of the fact that it was about to defeat such weak challengers. It proved all the more surprising when the situation quickly reversed. The rock suddenly fell over as easily as a ventilated Jenga tower, revealing the hole beneath. The sudden reversal of forture caught Charon so off-guard that he fell flat on his chest, trapping Calien beneath him in the process. He lied there for the moment, stunned, until Calien's squirming and gasps restored his senses and prompted him to rise to his feet.

Calien rolled away, taking in a big gulp of air. "You are heavier...than...you appear...to be," he heaved.

Charon looked at the toppled rock and the exposed hole, trying to make sense of what had occurred. It was then that he saw the culpit: two vines receded from the boulder where it once had grasped. A moment later, Bontana hopped on top of the rock, triumphant and beaming.

_"Victoria!"_ she proclaimed, channeling the bombastic enthusiasm of animated magical girls everywhere.

*****

"Cassandra…I don't feel quite right anymore…Help me..."

*****

In the millisecond Charon had to himself in order to think, it left him flabbergasted to think that the chikorita he once carried upon his back to flee from the poltergeists of the woods--she was hardly heavy at all--possessed the strength to flip a rock with enough weight to squish her like a grape. Surely it was because he and Calien were pushing in the same direction...but that thought quickly dissapeared from Charon's mind as voices called out from the depths.

"W-w-who's up there? Anyone? What's going on?"

"Hey, are we being rescued!?"

"No, you idiots! It's just the monster teasing us!"

The three on the surface cautiously and curiously looked down into the hole. Only darkness could be seen, accompanied by an unpleasant stench. It reminded Charon of a place from the past, one that stung with painful memories. He didn't hesitate to put such thoughts on the backburner. Now was not the time to wrestle with his inner demons.

Charon spoke to the prisoners below: "Listen down there! I don't know when the patriarch might be coming back. If you want to get out of this hellhole, now's the time to do it."

"Hot diggity damn!" a pikachu exclaimed from below, "This could be it! Come on, fellas, stack up. This is our big chance!"

Calien cocked his head. "Just how deep is that hole?"

Groans sounded all around from below. "We don't have the energy anymore. Agh!"

"Come on, you guys! Don't give up now!" Whoever was spearheading the escape appeared to be up against a dearth of willpower. He called back up to Charon and the others. "Hey, dude! We're not exactly fit for climbin'! You got anything to pull us up?"

"Hang on, we might have something," Charon replied back. "Botana! Those vines of yours, how strong are they?"

The chikorita was surprised by the question. "Charon? Oh, these you mean!" The appendages grew out from the sides of her neck, hanging in the air like enchanted snakes. "They are pretty, yes?"

"She has an odd idea of what constitutes as 'pretty,'" Calien remarked, somewhat creeped out by the display.

"Now's not the time for that, Calien," Charon warned, "Keep an eye out for the Patriarch, alright? We have to move fast."

Calien nodded. "My singular eye shall gaze upon all that surrounds us with hostile intent. I doubt fending such foes off will be easy though, seeing that I lack efficient aim."

It was at that moment that Charon soon realized that Calien's handicap might not be so detrimental. During all the time the three were working on the jailbreak, Katar and the rest of the available dead formed a perimeter around the sight. Appartions floated at their posts. Their sight reached far and missed no sign of life.

"I wouldn't worry about it." That was all Charon was willing to say. He turned his attention back to Botana and the hole. "Botana, think you could use one of them as a rope? We could fish them out."

Charon was met with a blank stare from the chikorita, to which he responded with a sigh. "Hang on, I'll show you." He walked up to her side, taking hold of one of the vines. Botana gasped and pulled the vine away in shock, snatching it out of Charon's grasp.

With a bit of irritation, Charon gestured with a wave of the paw to give the vine back. He pointed to the hole in the ground, hoping Botana would get the message.

"Oh! _Lo siento, Charon._" Upon that realization, Botana hesitantly extended her vine once more to the rodent.

"Thanks, Botana. Now lower it down into there. Start pulling up if it gets too heavy," Charon directed.

Botana hesitantly nodded, perhaps not understanding every word. The tip of her vine began to dissapear into the hole, guided by Charon's grasp. She visibly tensed as it went deeper and deeper. One could compare her situation to an insectophobic girl sticking her hand into a jar full of cockroaches to recover jewelry planted by a cackling sadist.

"Holy crap, that rope is alive!"

"No, you idiot! It's a grassie's vine." Botana felt a tug that made her cringe.

"They sound delirious," Calien remarked from his post, not turning back.

It didn't take very long for Botana to feel one of the prisoners jump upon her vine. Unfortunately, the sensation jolted her with unpleasantness like seaweed around a foot. In a knee-jerk reaction she whisked the vine out of the hole with an "Eek!" The prisoner on her vine soon discovered his eagerness to escape to be his undoing.

"Yiiii!" The pikachu could only hang on for a second or two before he lost his grip and flew up into the sky. He tumbled head-over-heels as he reached the peak of his trajectory and then plummeted to the earth. Charon immediately freaked and ran to catch the pikachu. His aim was slightly off, however, for the pikachu landed on the raichu's back instead.

Under normal circumstances the escapee would've jumped for joy, but he lacked the energy. Instead, he groaned and rolled off Charon, whose lungs were slammed empty of air, looking up exhaustively to the canopy above. It was at that point one could see the bruise on the pikachu's eye. It was a distinct mark from a punch to the face.

"Ooh, that fresh air is good," the pikachu said.

*****

"I'm tellin' you, that girl is off limits! Go on, scat! Don't make me turn you numb. Let's see you try the nasty when you're limp as a fish!"

*****

Charon had given Botana stern looks, and Botana in turn had repeatedly apologized, but it was still not enough to extract the pikachus from the ground without being tossed like yellow confetti. The rodent fountain had continued to the last one. Most were weak to the bone. A few had enough strength to freak out upon the sight of the raichu, but upon doing so they expelled the energy needed to care. There were enough pikachus in number for an overbooked high-school class. The herd, it seemed, was much smaller than Charon anticipated, unless these were merely the ones unfortunate enough to be caught.

As soon as the boulder was rolled back into place (and noses were collectively held to block the stench) Charon wasted no time in directing the pikachus on their first order of business: "The whole lot of you need a damn bath!"

"We can barely move!" They had groaned.

"If you'd rather wait until the Patriarch comes back and rip all of you a new one, then that's your choice," Charon had snapped back.

Much groaning endured in combination with fear when the pikachus forced themselves to their feet. They had begun a slow, strenuous walk, leaving a terrible odor in their wake. The trip took up a good chunk of the afternoon. Botana put up her best efforts to obliterate the stench with the flowery aroma from her leaf, but only so much could be done.

"The patriarch is sure to catch our trail," Calien had warned, but Charon reasoned that it was a risk that they would have to take.

By some stroke of luck they had managed to avoid the Patriarch in order to finally reach their destination: the nearby pond where Charon and the rest had bathed that morning. The pikachus swarmed in, soaking every inch of their bodies in the water, as the sun was busy receding into the horizon for the day. Thankfully, no water-borne pokemon were about to cry foul over the newfound pollution in their habitat.

Katar, Charon, Botana, and Calien looked on from the shore as the pikachus cleaned up. "Well, you have managed to get them all out. Soon they will be fresh and rejuvenated. I was expecting them to run from you, but it seems they do not care who the fireman is as long as the fire is put out," Calien remarked to the raichu.

"Oh, I wouldn't jump to conclusions on that. I bet as far as they're concerned, they're stuck between a rock and a hard place," Charon replied. "They'd rather not deal with raichus at all."

As the two of them conversed, one of the pikachus had broken away from the group bathing in the pond. It was the same one that was first yoinked from the hole in the ground, bearing a black eye. He approached Charon nervously, as though he was about to negotiate with the boogeyman. "Um, hi. Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Hmm? Oh, what is it?" Charon turned directly to the smaller rodent speaking to him. Botana and Calien turned their eyes upon the inquiring Pikachu as well, curious as to what he was about to ask. The pikachu, in turn, felt his heart skip a beat. He cleared his throat in an effort to maintain his composure.

"I…I was wondering if you knew what was going on with the girls. Are they still around here?"

"Well, since you're so curious, I'll tell you: Cassandra is gathering them together. They're going to-"

The pikachu's mood lit up like a Christmas tree. "Cassandra!? She's still here? Hot damn! You're not lying to me, are you? You better not be!"

Charon raised a brow. "What reason would I have to lie? It's the truth."

"Oh, fuck yes!" The pikachu exclaimed. He pumped a fist to the sky, unable to contain his newfound enthusiasm. He seemed to siphon it away from the raichu, who acted more emotionless and numb by the second.

"Let me guess. You're her boyfriend, right?" Charon asked.

Botana and Calien frowned as the conversation went on. The predicament was to be expected, but they couldn't help but pity the raichu's situation.

"The one and only! I've been courting that pretty girl all season, but just when I was sure we were gonna be together, BAM! That psycho barges in and knocks me flat. Next thing I knew, I was in a dark hole with all the other guys that stank like a muk!"

"I see. I must have found her after she fled. She had cried herself to sleep in the woods," Charon spoke back. "She was a tempting catch."

"Wait, what did you say?" Charon's remark made the pikachu and everyone else that was listening shoot a look of surprise towards his way. The raichu, however, only grinned in return.

"I kid. I'm not that kind of male. But I can't deny that she's attractive, in spite of her spunk."

"Hoo!" The pikachu let out a sigh of relief. "You had me going there for a sec. If you really had gotten to her first I would've just died right here!"

"Well, if I end up replacing your patriarch I could always claim her then."

The pikachu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Hey! That's not funny! Everyone knows she's my girl!" he cried out. To this, however, Charon merely let out a hearty and possibly sadistic laugh.

"You don't take teasing very well. Tell me, what's your name?" Charon questioned as he peered down to the pikachu.

The pikachu reasserted his posture, standing as straight and tall as he could before the raichu. "The name's Aaron, and you better keep your hands off Cassandra or else I'm gonna fry your ass 'til you're extra-crispy!"

"Duly noted! But that fighting spirit of yours is best saved for the patriarch," Charon pointed out matter-of-factly, "If we don't deal with him first, we won't get to enjoy any of the girls, now would we?"

Aaron gritted his teeth. "Fine, we'll have to work together for now."

"Yes, an alliance…for as long as such a thing can last," Charon added with a bit of sarcastic theatrics. "Go get the others out of the lake, will you? The girls should be coming here soon. Oh, and my name is Charon, by the way. Pleased to meet you."

The pikachu turned away, but not before giving the raichu a dirty look. "Whatever you say, punk!" He walked off towards the pond.

As Charon watched Aaron gather the others, he noticed that his companions were staring at him in utter disbelief. "What? Did I do something wrong?" He questioned.

"That is not how I would act if I wanted their allegiance!" Calien snapped. "Are you trying to turn them against you?"

"Well, excuse me for venting a little, Calien. I'm not so good at bottling up emotions like you are." Charon replied. "When all this is over, I'm still competing against the rest of them for a mate, like they'd compete with each other. They all know that."

"Put such thoughts on the backburner for now, rodent," Katar warned, "If the focus is not on the true enemy, then all of you will-"

It was at that moment when all conversation and all activity were brought to a screeching halt. A primal scream fueled by a bloodthirsty rage boomed through the woods, piercing into the ears of all who lived there. It hung in the air like a guillotine and echoed as far as the mountain. It was an omen that plagued all who heard that terrible sound with the sense of impending doom.

"The patriarch is coming!" One of the pikachus cried out. _"Run for your lives!"_


	30. Conflicts With The Living

**Editor's Note:** Sorry again for the delay. I guess it's a good thing I don't depend upon my storywriting skills to pay the bills yet. :( Feedback is appreciated.

**Chapter 30**

Pandemonium erupted in the pond. The pikachus that had been bathing moments now churned the water as they panicked and ran around like decapitated chickens. Aaron, the lone pikachu who maintained a cool head, tried in futility to reel in their melodramatic despair, but his voice was easily drowned out by proclamations of certain doom.

"Aw, hell no!"

"We're screwed!"

"We should've never escaped!"

"AIIIIE!"

As the escapees from the Patriarch's hellhole proved to handle setbacks rather poorly, the raichu, Charon, watched the lot of them with rising irateness. He could only stand a few seconds of the pikachus' pessimism until he threw up his paws and yelled, "STOOOOP!"

That immediately caught the pikachus' attention, Aaron included. They literally froze in place from the power of Charon's voice. Some even fell over into the water from postures that were less than ideal for maintaining balance. The raichu's companions, Calien, Botana, and Katar, watched on with genuine surprise as the raichu took control of the situation.

"What the hell is wrong with all of you? The patriarch isn't here yet! He would've just now found out that you all escaped. If you all stopped having a damn heart attack about it we could take advantage of this!"

"Take advantage?! He's going to come right here and pulverize us!" cried one of the pikachus.

"No, he's not," Charon snapped, "Because I'm going to kick his ass first!"

In spite of the iron determination in the raichu's tone, the pikachus didn't seem entirely convinced. The fear could be seen in their eyes as they stared at the cauterized wounds in Charon's shoulders. Such injuries made him appear ill-fit for combat. But the raichu didn't hesitate to drive his point further.

"Listen. In a few minutes he's going to come stampeding this way. He's not gonna think straight when he's enraged. He'd be easy to distract. I'll stay behind and take him head on, while the rest of you retreat and meet up with Cassandra and the rest. Then you can get the weakest to safety while the strongest come back to finish the job. He'd be worn down enough by then."

Charon sighed. "I know I look like I've seen better days, but this is the time for me to fight. Who else is going to take him on? None of you could do a damn thing against him!"

"Ahem." Calien cleared his throat, peering at Charon in annoyance with his remaining eye. "You have no right to speak as though you face the enemy alone."

Charon immediately discouraged the vulpix's suggestion. "No, Calien, you've already fought enough. I need you and Botana to get the pikachus to safety. In fact, could you do that now? We're running out of time here!"

"Lily would hate me if I didn't make sure you didn't die."

"Lily's gonna hate _me _if you end up dying instead! Now go!"

Calien narrowed his gaze. Eventually, however, he conceded. "Come on then, Botana. Charon wants to play the hero today...if not the martyr."

The vulpix turned his attention to the pikachus. "Come, get on your feet! We will meet with your females and then defeat your tyrant patriarch before their eyes with the might of your masculine power. That is sure to impress them, would it not?"

That seemed to be just the ticket for the pikachus. As a group they noisily scurried out of the pond, gathering to follow Calien's lead. Those that were too weak to move quickly were carried by their comrades. Their voices were silent murmurs, for the last thing they wanted was to invite the patriarch to catch the sound of them and hunt them down.

The activity seemed to amuse the gastly, Katar, as he watched their movement above them, invisible to mortal eyes. He then turned his gaze to the distance.

"The patriarch will be here soon. I hope you have a strategy for besting him at half your strength, rodent," the ghost told the raichu.

The statements of the vulpix and the gastly did little to ease the growing tension of the situation. Charon began to grit his teeth. Such was his anxiety that he almost didn't notice that the chikorita was peering up to him with eyes that threatened to burst with tears.

"Hey! Enough of that!" Charon told her, put off by the lack of confidence held by his companions. "I'm not going to keel over and die. I know what I'm doing! This isn't the first time I've put my life on the line."

"And you're more than adept at taking lives as well," Katar remarked.

Charon glared at Katar for a moment before brushing him off to assuage the chikorita's fears. He leaned over a bit to pat her on the head. "I'll come out of this alive, Botana. I still have to get you a mate, after all."

"Promise me...promise me you won't die," Botana whispered.

Charon groaned at the melodrama. "For the love of-! okay, fine. I promise I won't die, alright? Now go with Calien already!"

As the raichu commanded, the chikorita began to turn away in order to join the pikachus and the vulpix on their trip to rendezvous with the females of the herd. However, she barely took a couple of steps away from the raichu when she whipped right back around. Before Charon could react, the chikorita pounced upon him, knocking the raichu to his back as his mouth was engulfed in Botana's passionate kiss.

"Mmmm!Mmmm!" The raichu flailed as Botana's grasp upon him proved as tight as a barnacle. Everyone else looked on with disbelief and a touch of fear, thankful that a female such as Botana didn't cling upon them so zealously. Eventually the chikorita got off the raichu, leaving him dazed from the intimacy. The tears now fell profusely from her eyes.

"_Te amor, Charon!" _She proclaimed. With her love laid bare, she turned and sprinted off into the direction of her home.

"Crazy pear! Wait for us!" Calien called to her. He dashed off in turn. The pikachus, not wanting to be left behind, went off in hot pursuit of the two in turn. In a matter of seconds, the pond and its shore had been deserted. Charon was left lying on the ground and alone to his own throughts, save for the company of the ghost and the trees. He was suddenly filled with dread that he promptly forced to the backburner, but yet insisted on gnawing at his thoughts with doubt.

_What the hell did I just do?_ The question repeated in Charon's mind as he brushed himself off and got back to his feet. The sensation of Botana's kiss lingered in its mouth. It reminded him of peppermints, a flavor he knew because of the benevolence of the girl that once owned him. He focused on that flavor in order to shut out the dread completely.

_Just think, Charon. Once you pull this off, you'll be able to taste something even sweeter._

He scanned the premises, looking for a place to lie in wait. The raichu would have to get the drop on the patriarch if he was to get in at least one solid blow.

Katar floated down to Charon's level, sensing the raichu's strategy. "You plan an ambush? I would suggest lying low in the foilage or waiting high in the trees. I doubt you are able to climb, so that narrows the decision down a bit, doesn't it, rodent?"

"Seems that way, Katar," Charon responded. He spotted an ideal location near the shore. There, he receded into the cover of the green leaves of nearby bushes. His eyes peered through the space between the leaves, waiting silently for the patriach to appear. Katar floated beside him. The spirit was submerged in the bush rather than hidden with seemingly no effect to his ethereal form.

"This'd be a lot easier if the other ghosts swarmed him like they did me. Why the hell are you the only one here?" Charon questioned.

"The ghosts don't normally confront someone like your kind," Katar explained, "An alert raichu is nearly impossible for ghosts to even touch unless you are willing to sacrifice."

Charon bit lis hip. He remembered the gastly that had fallen into a coma by his violent electricity.

"The demon wants this to be an opportunity for the living to correct the problem," Katar continued, "But I am the exception. The demon has me bound to you until all this is over." He smiled bitterly as he added, "The demon thought if I had a chance to accomplish what I failed to do while alive it might make me feel better about being dead."

"Is he serious?" Charon asked incredulously.

"I'm quicker to believe that-" Katar cut himself off, for he saw the patriarch coming close now to their location. Charon could hear the footsteps of the tyrant barge through the foliage. There was no doubt in the raichu's mind that the patriarch was on the war path.

_This is it!_ Charon thought, _Damn, this has taken far too long. At last, I'll have a chance to do something right for a change. No more moping over the mistakes of the past. No more isolation. I'll be the hero of this herd and earn a chance to finally have a goddamn mate! Hang on,wait a minute…I need more of a plan._

"Katar, I have an idea how we can take this guy out," Charon told the ghost, "He'll probably barge right past us. I'll clothesline the bastard with my tail and then you can paralyze him with that tongue of yours when he drops like a sack of potatoes."

"And then you land the killing blow?" Katar asked.

"No, we'll chit-chat over tea. Of course I'll land the killing blow!"

Katar rose a brow, perplexed. "What exactly is tea?"

"Forget it. Just wait for your chance. He's going to be here any minute now."

***

They moved slowly and carefully on all fours. Their beady eyes kept a watch for any unscrupulous creature that may plot to exploit them. Their bodies were tight-knit, like soldiers in file, lining up the stripes on their backs while their tails, notched with the symbol of their gender, pointed up and behind them. Cassandra took the lead in order to direct them to their destination while the pichu, Ivy, stayed close to her side. Ivy was the only offspring there.

Females such as the pikachus that walked cautiously towards their rendezvous with the males didn't exactly have the easiest of times in this season. Even without the extraordinary circumstances that threatened the future of their species in the woods they called their home, the multitude of suitors that longed for their embrace was always a source of stress. The way of the pikachu, as far as mating was concerned, was one of monogamy, for so much relied upon the raising of the offspring that a nuclear family was vital for support. But that was easier said than done.

Some of them had to stay behind because their biological clocks had already set off a maddening rush of hormones. Some had it worse than others. Such isolation was necessary because if a female pikachu hadn't chosen a mate at that point, she'd seclude herself in the fear that she would throw herself upon the nearest male in the vicinity. While for the most part the males in the herd were respectful of the difficulties the females had when in heat, they looked forward to the inevitable opportunity that would arise nonetheless.

"Okay girls, it shouldn't be much further from here," Cassandra told them as they continued forward, "All we're doing at the moment is coming up with a plan. Easy."

Cassandra's demeanor was cool and collected on the outside, but on the inside her heart pumped rapidly in anxious anticipation. Ivy sometimes felt the beating of that yearning heart as she brushed against the pikachu in her stride. Some of the other girls had their suspicions as well. Surely she looked forward to seeing Aaron again to some degree.

Cassandra suddenly heard a growing sound: hastening footsteps accompanied by a girlish wailing. "Everyone, stop! Someone's coming," Cassandra ordered.

The females followed her command, but already fear was starting to take hold. "It's not the patriarch, is it?" One of them asked.

"Since when does the patriarch wail like a sissy? No...I think I've got an idea who it is," Cassandra added with a sigh.

It did not take long for Cassandra's suspicions to prove true. The wailing grew louder until a certain chikorita burst from the foliage. She came to a dead stop before the herd, the majority of which jumped as they were startled by the sight.

"It's the crazy plant girl!" One of the girls exclaimed.

Botana stood before the group with tears rolling down her cheeks. Her large, red eyes zeroed in on Cassandra, instantly shooting a look of desperation. "Cassandra! Charon needs help!"

"Where did you go?! Damn pear!" A masculine voice cursed in the distance. It belonged to the vulpix, Calien.

"_Aqui!"_ Botana called to him. "Cassandra is here!"

"Finally!" Barely a second passed when Calien followed Botana's example and burst into the scene. Moments later, the male pikachus swarmed into the vicinity as well. Immediately the tension that had been building up in the females following Cassandra erupted into a bedlam of excitement as they rushed to embrace the males they thought they had lost. The mixed signal this gave the recipient males paralyzed them for a moment before, with much pain, they gently pushed the females away.

"Artie?What's wrong? Don't you know how long it's been since I saw you?!" One of the girls cried.

"We are NOT out of this yet!" Calien finally intervened with a snap, speaking to the girls. "The raichu gave your males a chance to retreat and regroup. He is fighting your patriarch alone. But he is worn and wounded. If you do not come up with a plan quickly, Charon will die, and I doubt your patriarch will settle for imprisoning your bachelors the second time around!"

Botana cried and shed tears anew as the worst-case scenario Calien spoke of pierced her conscience with distress.

It was at that point that Calien at last finally noticed that someone was missing from Cassandra's group.

"Wait a minute. Lily...she is not here?" His eyes settled upon the pichu, knowing the maiden vulpix would never have left Ivy's side unless she had no other choice. "But that must mean-"

As Calien spoke, Cassandra's eyes had darted from one male pikachu to another. She immediately came to a realization that upset her so greatly that she charged up to the fox and grabbed him by the ear. Calien yelped as the pikachu went on to seize him and shake him by the cheeks.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO AARON?!" Cassandra demanded, on the verge of throttling the vulpix, "WHY ISN'T HE WITH YOU?!"

The proclamation had the male pikachus shoot glances towards each other until their own realizations set off a new burst of panic.

*****

The patriarch finally appeared. In his hiding spot, Charon had a brief opportunity to lay his eyes upon the villain that was bent on destroying the future of the herd under his rule. He was definitely a raichu, and a powerful one at that. His body was leaner than others of his kind, making Charon look chubby in comparison, and the head of his tail was larger with a sharper and more menacing tip. No injury marred his fur or flesh, giving the patriarch a look of perfection as far as a wild existence would allow. The patriarch was a creature solely reliant on his power, thus he was at the peak of his physical condition in order to enforce his will.

Electricity crackled from the Patriarch's cheeks as he bellowed out whilst thrashing at open air, "Do you think you all can run from me forever?! Weaklings, all of you! You run to give yourselves in to the pleasure of filthy harlots!"

He dashed up to the shore of the pond, eyeing the tracks the pikachus had left behind when they departed together from the water.

"You can wash the smell from your body, but I can still track your scents! Don't make me hunt you down. You'll be as good as dead when I catch you. And I won't make the mistake of sparing your lovers. I'll kill those whores on the spot if you're with them!"

_Pfft. This guy is like the zangoose all over again,_ Charon thought. As far as he was concerned, he had already faced tougher opponents, even with his wounds in consideration.

_Alright, you girl-hating bastard. Just come over my way and I'll put an end to your reign of terror._

The patriarch launched into a sprint towards the other raichu's direction. Charon tensed the muscles in his tail, ready to whip out and strike the patriarch in the neck once his enemy came within range.

"Pikaaa!"

A look of surprise hit both Charon and the patriarch as the raichu running towards Charon was knocked off his feet by the intercepting course of a pikachu. The yellow rodent acted like a rocket, lunging from the water nearby to bash the patriarch in the temple with his skull. As the patriarch staggered to the side, the pikachu backflipped from the point of impact and landed squarely on his feet, striking a fighting stance.

Charon saw the black eye the pikachu bore and nearly had a heart attack. Aaron had stayed behind.

"Well, that was unexpected," Katar calmly remarked. "Of course the patriarch is going to kill him now, I'd assume."

As soon as the patriarch recovered his balance, he faced the small pikachu to pierce the yellow rodent's eyes with a murderous glare. "It's YOU!" He exclaimed vehemently, as he had thrust an accusatory paw at Aaron. The pikachu responded in kind with a cocky smirk.

"How'd you like getting sucker-punched, big guy?" Aaron taunted, "Holding my breath down there was worth it just for the look on your ugly face! Anyhow, me and the boys have been talking, and we'd much rather do the hibbity-jibbity with da ladies than be stuck in a smelly hole in the ground. Why don't you call a day and let us have our fun? You got more than a few screws loose, anyway."

Aaron's words, along with the gesture of the twirl of one finger near his temple, made the patriarch throw his head back in a maniacal laughter. "So, the insolent whelp intends to defy me? Then I'll make an example of you. The rest will yield to me before your corpse!"

The raichu's electricity arched all around him in a grand display of his power. Aaron's ears wilted as he began to realize the severity of his situation. Upon seeing this, Charon wasted no more time and sprung into action. The current of his electricity grew in his cheeks as he ran out of his hiding place and leaped into the air.

The gaze of Aaron and the Patriarch fell upon Charon as he intervened. "What the-"

The patriarch's words were cut short as Charon discharged his electricity in a blinding flash. The other two rodents reeled and cried out in pain as the light burned deep into the backs of their eyes. At once the patriarch was infuriated and cried out in rage. As he held his paws over his eyes, a storm of electricity enveloped his body, threatening to strike at anything foolish enough to come within its range. This gave Charon the few seconds he needed to land on his feet, snatch Aaron away, and run out of sight to the cover of a nearby tree. The raichu pinned the pikachu against the tree, looking down at Aaron with great irritation.

"Aaah! No, let me go! I was just kidding, I swear!" Aaron yelped in panic as he struggled. His eyes was still shut tight from Charon's flash.

"Shut up, you idiot! It's me!" Charon snapped in a loud whisper. "What the fuck are you trying to do?!"

Katar materialized above the two of them, listening to their conversation as he watched the actions of the patriarch from a vantage point. He saw the storm of electricity die down as the other raichu's eyesight began to recover.

"Charon? Whew! I thought you were the patriarch." Aaron said, calming down a little.

"The patriarch would've killed you by now if I wasn't here. Why the hell aren't you with the other pikachus? Cassandra would be furious!"

Aaron hesitated to answer.

"Is this an attempt to impress her?" Charon probed further.

"So what if it was?" Aaron shot back, "You're fighting the patriarch to impress her too, dude! You're saving the day just so you can score with a hot chick, but she's MY hot chick! You expect me to just lay down and let you take advantage of her?"

Charon didn't know how to respond to that at first, for the accusation took him by surprise. It was a more truthful perspective of the reasons he wanted to fight the patriarch than he cared to admit. Everything he had done up to that point had been driven by an ulterior motive to earn a mate for himself. But was it really that simple?

"I had a lot of opportunities to 'score with a hot chick' long before I met Cassandra, Aaron," Charon told Aaron, "But it's not just sex I'm after. I want a chance to start over and make up for the mistakes I've made. I don't want to make claim to a pretty female as property. I want a mate in the truest sense of the word."

Charon sighed. "If Cassandra would ever accept me, that will be her own decision. I don't intend to steal her." Charon then smirked as he added, "But if she's the polygamous sort of girl then that's not really a problem, right?"

The pikachu was instantly filled with dread. "Please don't joke about that, dude!" He pleaded.

"Charon, I suggest you move. He's about to electrocute this tree," Katar warned the raichu.

_Fuck!_ The raichu yanked Aaron away with him as he turned tail and ran for the cover of an adjacent tree. The patriarch's wrath instantly struck the tree like a powerful bolt of lighting. Bark and wooden shrapnel showered the vicinity as Charon, holding the pikachu tight against his stomach, pressed his back hard against his newest hiding spot.

"Dude! Air! Can't breathe!" Aaron gasped.

At once the raichu loosened his grasp, allowing the pikachu with the black eye to claim much-needed oxygen.

"And just how the hell were you going to survive an attack like that?!" Charon snapped at the pikachu.

"I'd have thought of something!"

"What, were you going to get up on a rock and punch him in the face?"

"No, man, I'd kick him right in the balls!"

"Charon, tree, exploding soon!" Katar warned again.

_FUCK! _The scene repeated itself several times over as the patriarch aimed to obliterate Charon's cover as many times as it would take. He followed the rodent with his eyes and struck the tree the raichu hid behind to make his target continuously flee as the pikachu yelped helplessly. His enjoyment of having his enemy on the run as splinters flew everywhere drew a twisted, sadistic grin on his face.

"Well, at least you're drawing him away from the herd," Katar noted, following Charon as he ran for dear life with Aaron in tow, "But you can't keep this up forever. Do you have a back-up plan?"

The desperate look Charon shot at the ghastly as he fled stated the fairly obvious.

"Oh. Well, that isn't good," Katar replied.

"YOU THINK?!" Charon yelled at him.

******

_Calien..._

_Calien...I'm so sorry..._

_Calien...I can't control my body anymore..._

_Stay away, Calien! Please!_

_I'm so scared I could die!_


	31. Ascension

**Chapter 31**

Calien lacked the luxury of time.

When everyone who gathered together had realized that Aaron was flirting with danger when he should not have been, all of the rodents with strength to spare, male and female alike, joined together and began a mad dash in an effort to avert the pikachu's death as well as Charon's. That was soon after Cassandra blew her top and nearly tore the heads off of the males. Before they rushed back, however, the vulpix pressed Cassandra for information.

"Why is it that Lily is not with you? You must tell me before you go!" He had insisted.

"She's back at the cave, alright?! Along with the other girls that had to stay behind. She got hit bad by the heat and some deadbeat tried to jump her."

"What?!"

"Listen, we don't have time for this! You can go right on ahead and check on her, but I'm not gonna let those two idiots die! At least get the sick ones to safety while you're at it!"

The vulpix had hastily agreed to this. As soon as he had scooped up the few pikachus too weak to move and barked at them to hang on tight upon his back, he sprinted as fast as his legs could take him back to Botana's home, where he and the other travelers from the other side of the mountain had stayed for the past night. Now he stood before the entrance of that home, a bit short in breath from the weight of the rodents riding upon him.

Calien called out, "Lily? Lily, are you still there? It is Calien!"

The vulpix didn't receive a response. As he waited for any sign that the maiden vulpix was still in the shelter, one of the two pikachus riding on Calien's back groaned, "Can you put us down now? I'm runnin' out of steam up here."

Calien had nearly forgotten about them. "Oh. My apologies," he said in haste. He lowered his body to lie upon the ground. As soon as he did that, the two pikachus rolled off of his back, now lying on their own backs to face the canopy above. "I'm glad to be back on the ground again," one of them stated.

"You're telling me," the other agreed.

"But now we can barely move while there's a bunch of horny girls just a few feet away."

"You just had to bring that up, didn't you?"

Calien was on the verge of sternly commanding them to be quiet, but that would've wasted more time. "Excuse me, rodents, but I am in need of knowing your names," he requested of the two pikachus beside him as he rose to his feet.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm Alec, and my friend here's named Damon," the one named Alec told Calien, "You wouldn't by any chance have some Oran berries nearby, would you?"

"Unfortunately, there are none. Wait here a moment," Calien told them. He began to walk towards the entrance of Botana's home.

"Sure thing!" Damon coughed, "Not like we're going anywhere!"

The vulpix stopped short of the entrance. He was close enough to peer into the dark confines that were shielded from the sunlight. He thought he saw a glimpse of a yellow rodent scurrying away from sight. The smell of pheromones also wafted into his nose. _If I was saturated in that scent, it would be difficult to even think. I can't linger here for long,_ Calien thought.

He began to speak.

"Listen…I know you and the rest of girls are hesitant to approach me in the state you are currently in, so I will try to be brief. Lily, Cassandra told me what had happened. Please, do not hold yourself at fault. I already understand that you were having a hard time holding yourself back so you could help the offspring come back to her home. But now you deal with a force greater than your reasoning. I will not stoop to the level of taking advantage of that, but please consider: we have waited through the trials of winter so we could start a family together. I stayed by your side through that harsh period because I have loved you since the beginning. If there is anyone out there you could trust to let go of your fears and…embrace…it would be me.

"As for the rest of you: There are two males of your herd out here that are weak and sickly, named Alec and Damon. I cannot help them further, for I must go back and help your herd deal with your tyrant in any way that I can. See to it that they are taken care of. And Lily…I promise that I will come back to you."

With all of that said and done, Calien turned back and sprinted off in pursuit of the pikachus. "Hey! Where are you going?" Alec had called out to him, but he was already out of sight. The two pikachus groaned as they were left by their lonesome by the cave.

"Now what? That fox just left us here!" Damon whined.

"Well, we could try calling out to the girls. Maybe the vulpine thought they'd take pity on us in spite of their horniness," Alec suggested.

"Dude, you've been listening too much of Aaron's stories. It NEVER happens like that!"

"Yeah…we probably don't even have the energy to do it." Alec rolled over to one side, ready to accept defeat.

***

The minutes that passed by for Charon and Aaron seemed to stretch on with every agonizing second. The patriarch hounded the two relentlessly, keeping up the pressure as one bolt of lightning followed another. Charon had the speed to evade the deadly attacks (and the shards of bark that exploded as a result,) as well as the strength to carry the pikachu swiftly away from harm, but the patriarch's fierce offensive kept the fleeing rodents from mounting any retaliation. For now, all they could think about was survival.

This was the impression left upon the poltergeist Katar, who now saw himself as the sole strategist of the group for now, since the Patriarch lacked the ability to see him while he was hidden from mortal eyes. As Charon kept running with the panicky Aaron in tow, the former zangoose thought aloud with words only Charon could hear.

"That patriarch chasing you seems confident that you'll tire out before he does, the way he keeps flushing you out of hiding. We would've avoided this by pressing our advantage while he was blinded. Well, you live and learn." Katar let slip a bitter chuckle. "You need to deal with that yellow rodent you are hauling around. Then we can confront the enemy proper."

"I have something in mind," Charon grunted.

"You mean so we don't die out here?!" Aaron yelped, thinking the raichu was talking to him.

Charon managed to transition the conversation without a hiccup. "I'm gonna have you lay low somewhere so I can deal with the bastard without worrying about keeping your ass out of trouble. But you're not gonna like it."

The pikachu's mind drew a blank. "What's worse than being fried to death?"

As Charon took cover behind a tree from the patriarch's latest attack, he pointed to what he had in mind now that it was within view. There, a familiar rock lied on its side next to a very familiar hole in the ground. Aaron's reaction proved significantly less than ecstatic.

"Are you kidding me!? You're not making me go back in there!" the pikachu protested.

"Of course I'm not. You're gonna run yourself back inside. I could use the distraction," Charon answered in all seriousness.

"I just got out of that hole, dude!"

"Would you prefer I punt you over? I can't exactly toss you in from here," Charon replied with a cocky smirk. "Just break for it when I say so and let me worry about the patriarch. At least one of us has to live long enough to hit the sack with Cassandra, right?"

The pikachu, however, rapidly and violently shook his head. "Nuh-uh! No way! You're not making me!"

At that point, the patriarch began to cackle as he surged the energy in his body into another electrical attack. With their current cover about to explode into debris, Charon had no other choice. As Katar watched with curiosity, the raichu broke off into a sprint towards the hole in the ground as he lifted the pikachu above his head.

"Aw, hell nooooo!" Aaron cried. He fought to break free from Charon's grasp, but even with the wounds Charon had endured up to this point the strength of the raichu proved too great. In a matter of seconds, the raichu leapt up, threw Aaron straight down into the pit (who yelled as if plummeting into the depths of hell,) and dropped behind the safety of the rock that once imprisoned the bachelor pikachus indefinitely. Charon slammed his back against the rock as tumbling splints of bark flew past with enough velocity to gorge those that failed to evade.

"I might as well have stayed in here! You're horrible!" Aaron yelled out from the darkness of the hole, "Do you have any idea how bad it stinks in here?!"

Charon groaned, snapping back at him, "It's not like I wanted to do that! Just wait there until it's clear. I'll come back for you."

"How do I know you're not just setting me up?" Aaron demanded.

"Do I really have to explain that all over again?"

It was around this time that the patriarch entered the scene. From his view, he could not see the raichu hiding behind the rock, and he had not seen Aaron's plummet into the hole. However, his instincts assured him that they wouldn't have escaped him fully. He seemed particularly smug at the chase he was giving his prey. "I know you couldn't have gone far. Just how long, foreigner, do you plan to run with the little runt? Surely you must be tired of this game," he called out to Charon, "Are you afraid to challenge me and fail like the rest of your kind? Isn't that why you're here? Otherwise you have no business protecting that pikachu from the punishment he deserves. Just hand him over! Then you can leave like the wiser raichus have done."

The words of the patriarch had silenced Aaron. The pikachu trembled in the dark, afraid of attracting the patriarch's attention, as well as the possibility that Charon had merely thrown him into his grave.

"Well, isn't he the confident one?" Katar remarked to himself. He floated down close to Charon so that he could converse with the rodent face-to-face in whispers. "If you keep him talking, that could keep him off-guard long enough for me to use my tongue against him, like we had originally planned. Or would you rather claim the lion's share of the heroics at this point?"

Charon sighed. "You know, Katar, I've been having a few _really bad_ days lately. You'd understand if I wanted to cut loose and pound his face in on even terms, just for a little bit."

"You're bearing serious wounds from your earlier battles while that other rodent's in peak condition. I wouldn't consider those 'even terms.'"

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Charon chuckled. "Let me soften him up a little and then we'll try your way when he's either too exhausted or cocksure to expect a sneak attack."

Charon's choice of words struck the gastly as concerning. "I'm trying to help you avoid taking unnecessary damage. You understand that, right?"

"I understand. I don't care."

***

The young pichu Ivy held tight to Cassandra's back as the pikachu, running on all fours, led the rest of the group with haste to the lake, where the males said Charon and Aaron were last seen. While everyone else in the group, the chikorita especially, were caught up in a noisy bedlam, the offspring was so quiet that the others failed to keep notice of her. She might as well have been invisible. This proved even truer when the group stopped dead at the sight of the numerous splinters and bark scattered in a path where several trees used to stand. Eyes popped wide at the violent destruction before them, Cassandra's most of all.

"Look at all those exploded trees!"

"Aaron would've been torn to shreds if he got caught in a blast like that!"

"That raichu, too!"

The chatter of the pikachu males and females astonished by the scene did little to ease the nerves of Cassandra and the chikorita. Botana's big eyes swelled with moisture, threatening to burst in a torrent of tears. The pikachu, however, proved much more hostile, as she angrily grabbed hold of the distressed Botana by her cheeks.

"You quit that, you hear?! They're not dead. NOT DEAD! You see any bodies around here? I sure don't! So stop wasting those tears!"

Botana was quickly intimidated into silence, though she looked as if she was biting hard upon her lip. Cassandra let go of the chikorita so that she could point towards the trail of bark and eviscerated stumps for the rest of the group to see.

"Wherever they are now, they're bound to have gone that way. We're going catch up to them and that patriarch and show'em that we won't be bullied anymore, not with the strength in numbers we've got now!"

"HOLD ON A MOMENT!"

The pikachu girl's proclamation was suddenly interrupted by the rapidly approaching one-eyed vulpix whom had burst into the scene. All eyes fell upon Calien as he skidded to a halt in order to stand before Cassandra. He was slightly short of breath from the sprinting he was doing moments ago.

"I'm glad…I caught up…with you," Calien heaved, before taking in a deep breath to gather his bearings.

Cassandra was impatient. "You better make this fast, 'cause this isn't the time to chatter!"

"I know you are eager to save your boyfriend, as well as the raichu, I assume, but there is something you should attend to first," Calien explained. He raised a paw to point at Ivy. "That pichu on your back. You want to keep her safe, right? Then I would not bring her into the vicinity of her father."

Cassandra's eyes popped once more, as she turned her head to look at Ivy. The pichu remained shy and silent. "Aw, crud! That's stupid of me," Cassandra exclaimed.

One of the other pikachu girls, named Sophie, stepped forward at once. "That fox is right, Cassie. You want one of us to take her back to the cave?"

"We've got no other choice," Cassandra conceded to her. "Ivy, you don't mind staying behind with Sophie, do you? We just don't want you to get hurt."

Ivy seemed to hesitate before giving Cassandra a nod. She slid off the pikachu's back in order to walk towards Sophie.

"Hey wait, shouldn't one of us take her back?" One of the pikachu males asked.

Calien interjected, "I believe we will need all the brawn that you bachelors can muster if the scenario goes from bad to worse. You males have to be soldiers now before you can worry about being fathers."

The pikachu males didn't seem quite as thrilled about that. By the looks on their faces, they felt more like cannon fodder than a force to be reckoned with.

"You also have a fire-breathing fox and a demented lovesick pear on your side, not to mention the raichu who is likely fighting the patriarch as we speak," Calien added with a grin, "I am sure that counts for something."

"Then we shouldn't just stand around here anymore," Cassandra snapped as her patience wore thin. "Sophie, you go and get Ivy back to that cave. The rest of us is gonna follow that bark! Is that clear? Good! Then get going already!"

Cassandra spearheaded the group as the rest of the pikachus, the vulpix, and the chikorita rushed to catch up to Charon, Aaron, and the patriarch. Sophie and Ivy stood side by side as the best of what the pikachu herd could muster disappeared into the forest, likely to engage in a critical and decisive battle.

"Come, my dear," Sophie warmly said to the pichu, placing a paw against her back, "I know there are some girls that would be more than happy to see your face again."

As the two began their walk back to the cave, Ivy constantly looked back in the direction where everyone else had gone. Quiet as she was, her face couldn't hide the emotions of brewing conflict.

***

A curious, isolated storm began to brew, its clouds dark, grey, and blotting out the blue of the sky. It loomed ominously over a scene of great violence in the forest below. It was there that bolts of electricity raged for dominance as wielded by Charon and his enemy, the patriarch, as they circled around each other. The threat of electrocution kept each other at bay as Charon matched the power of his foe and countered the strikes of lightning shot by the patriarch with his own.

Charon saw the frustration brewing in the patriarch and couldn't resist the urge to laugh. "Thought I was going to be a pushover?!" he taunted.

The patriarch glared at his challenger as he continued to fling bolt after bolt of electricity. "You! You were raised by a trainer, weren't you?! A raichu in your state would've given up by now."

"What, and you weren't? You look like you're jacked up on rare candies!" Charon quipped back.

"I learned long ago the importance of power. A cretin like you would not understand!"

"Bullshit! I've heard about what happened between you and your family," Charon pressed on, "The only reason you care about power so much is because you're a damn control freak. You'd rather make everyone else suffer than admit to your own damn failure!"

"_Silence! You know nothing of my family!"_ Pushed by Charon's words into a dangerous rage, the patriarch's electricity no longer shot out like lightning but coursed over his body as he broke into a sprint straight for his foe. Not surprisingly, Charon promptly cursed as he leapt out of the way of the charging raichu. Rolling on the ground to get back on his feet, however, reminded Charon the less-than-optimal state of his shoulders.

"AAAOOOOW! Dammit dammit fuck fuck fuck!" Charon cried, staggering.

"Don't you know not to let your guard down!?" It was the patriarch's turn to gloat. He had turned on a dime after Charon's evasion and was moments away from landing a critical hit.

In desperation, Charon whipped around to counteract the patriarch. He channeled the momentum of his spin into his foot, aiming for the patriarch's head with a wide and wild roundhouse kick. He let loose his electrical power at full blast with a shout for good measure. Upon contact to the patriarch's skull, the combined potency of their attacks ravaged the both of them as they were caught in the nucleus of a brief but terrifying explosion of lightning.

***

"Sweet crap! What the hell was that?!"

The running cavalry of the pikachus, the vulpix, and the chikorita had come to a dead stop when in the distance, where the thunderclouds loomed, a deafening boom of thunder roared in their ears. It struck amongst all of them a heightened sense of fear, the pikachu boys especially so.

"This is nuts! We don't stand a chance against someone that strong!" one of those males blurted in panic.

"Shut it and keep running!" Cassandra barked at the lot of them, "If we don't fight him now, he'll hunt us just like before. I'm NOT going to go through that again!"

Cassandra broke off in a sprint, ever faster towards the scene of the raichus' fight. Calien, Botana, and the pikachu girls immediately followed, for they knew there were few options left at this point. The pikachu boys, however, hesitated. They felt the urge to run in the opposite direction, until one of them cried out in exasperation:

"Gaaah! She's nuts too! But we can't let the girls throw themselves in a grinder! Come on!"

And so the boys of the herd followed as well, if only to do their part to ensure they would have someone to keep their bed warm if the herd actually managed to succeed in its rebellion.

Adrenaline surged through Cassandra's body as the forest sped past her running body in a blur. Every agonizing second that passed was another moment when Aaron might already have needlessly perished. Charon was the only one keeping the patriarch's wrath at bay, but in spite of the raichu having done everything possible to frighten her, she already owed more to the foreigner than she cared to admit. She wouldn't forgive Charon or herself if he ultimately gave up his life as well for not only the herd's sake, but for her own.

As Cassandra and her support got closer, the sounds of pain, physical blows, and the chaotic sparks of electricity filled their ears. Their hearts pumped rapidly. By the time they reached the scene where Charon and the patriarch were fighting, those hearts pounded right against their ribcages. They saw the two raichus trying to wrestle each other to the ground as the grasp of the two combatants were at each other's throats. They exchanged murderous glares as their tails clashed in the air, their heads rammed together, and their feet shuffled to maintain balance while trying to trip each other, but the patriarch's chokehold was stronger, making it harder for Charon to breathe. Electricity leapt all around them, subjecting the two to a mutual barrage of pain, threatening anyone that approached too closely with deadly electrocution.

"Why won't you die?!" The patriarch yelled at him, his tone unstable from the pain.

"You…first!" Charon yelled back.

The cavalry, luckily, was not seen, for Cassandra was the only one who had actually stepped out into the clearing. Her first instinct was to look for Aaron, but then she remembered the others behind her. Before she could be noticed, she had stepped back and turned around to warn the rest of the group to stop and be quiet, so as to remain hidden in the foliage for now. As the fighting raged on, she signaled them to come together closely, and quick. Botana and Calien stood at her sides while the pikachus gathered in front of her. In whispers they came up with a plan.

"The pikachus and I will circle around. On my signal, we'll give the patriarch a taste of his own medicine. I need the two of you fellas to pull him away from Charon, though. He'd get shocked too if he's too close," Cassandra told the chikorita and the vulpix. "The green gal here can shoot leaves, right?"

"…Razor leaf? _S__í__!_ I know the action!" Botana nodded.

"Good. You shoot those at the patriarch and then the one-eyed fire boy here can push him into our sights."

Calien grumbled, but bit his tongue. "That could work. You better get in place, then, before the patriarch gets an upper hand."

"Right. We're counting on you. Don't screw up!" Cassandra signaled the pikachus to move out, boys and girls alike. They lined up behind the cover of the foliage around the perimeter of the scene of the battle. In less than a minute, they completely surrounded the two raichus, waiting anxiously to execute the ambush while praying that it would actually work. Botana and Calien remained in their original positions as they watched the battling raichus from their cover. The chikorita anxiously dug the tips of her feet into the ground as she saw Charon fighting for his life.

"Now?" asked Botana.

"No, not yet," Calien answered firmly, "You need a clear shot."

Charon, in his struggling, suddenly fell to one knee.

"You're starting to slip, foreigner! Your time is running out!" The patriarch proclaimed to his enemy as he pressed down upon Charon, "Do you regret now challenging my power?"

"Do you..ever…shut up?" Charon replied, forcing out the words as he clenched his teeth from the rapidly growing pain.

"Now?!" Botana asked again, more forceful this time.

"Not until you have a good view of his back," Calien insisted.

The patriarch went on, all the more agitated when he normally would've been smug. "You're within an inch of losing your life and yet you still shoot off your arrogant mouth, just like that pikachu you insist on protecting. Enough! If you won't submit, I'll destroy you instead, but first I'll make you scream!"

Charon's drop in his posture gave the patriarch a vicious opportunity. His grasp shifted to grab one of Charon's arms as he threw the other raichu to the ground, driving Charon's face into the dirt. He bent Charon's arm behind his back and pulled as hard as he can. The unbearable, hellish pain that rushed into the shoulder threatening to split open anew invoked a howl of suffering from the bottom of the raichu's lungs, like that of a creature trapped in torture.

At that point, the patriarch's back had turned.

The chikorita waited no longer for the vulpix's command. As fast as she could, she whipped the giant leaf on her head with a snap of her neck. Pieces of the leaf ripped right off, solidified, and spun through the air like shurikens. They struck the patriarch's back and continued along the sides, slashing the raichu with lacerations before dropping to the ground. Now it was the patriarch's turn to howl. As he cried out, he dropped Charon from his grasp. The raichu lied on the ground writhing as the patriarch about-faced towards Botana's direction.

"Who was it that attacked me? Who? Who?! Show yourself!" the patriarch demanded, growing hysterical.

"Well it sure--aaaagh--wasn't me," Charon weakly remarked, "You were--aaack--about to kill me, remember? I bet it was in your head!"

The patriarch's blood boiled. "I'm going to rip that tongue right out of your mouth and choke you to death with it!" he threatened. He didn't the chance to lay another paw on Charon, however. Calien burst out from the bushes on the patriarch's flank and shot out a fierce column of continuous flame between the two. The patriarch yelped and hopped back, retreating out of range of the vulpix's fire.

"NOW!" Cassandra yelled.

The pikachus poured out of the surrounding fauna as they joined together in a salvo of thundershocks. Again and again they struck the patriarch with all the electrical power they could muster, lashing out at the days of terror and imprisonment the leader had inflicted upon his own herd. The patriarch, caught off-guard, fell to all fours, his mind at the moment stupefied by the sudden uprising more unified and fearless than he could take in as his body flinched in spasms from merciless electrocution. The yellow rodents closed in on the tyrant in a circle that shrank smaller and smaller as the raichu's energy seemed to deteriorate, slowing his ability to make an escape.

Calien hastily retreated to where Charon remained lying on the ground. Botana was already smothering the raichu in a hug, much to Charon's chagrin. "What the hell is going on?" the raichu asked the vulpix, "Get in cover behind that rock, you idiots!"

"Why? At this rate the herd is going to kill that tyrant," Calien observed.

"With thundershocks? That's barely a prick to this guy. They're just going to-!"

The patriarch suddenly erected his body to stand on his two feet, erupting into a murderous rage as the electric sacs in his cheeks scattered strikes of lightning. The pikachus recoiled and backed away in fright, but they desperately pressed on the attack as Cassandra yelled to keep up the offensive.

"The rodents still need us! Come, Botana!" Calien insisted.

"We will protect you, Charon!" Botana proclaimed, as she leapt off the raichu. The two ran to join the assault with razor leaves and fire from a distance.

"What part of "get in cover" don't you guys get?! Retreat before you're all killed!" Charon cried. Already he saw it coming. The patriarch was overloading his electric sacs. The radius of certain death grew bigger and bigger in size. The pikachus kept stepping back, but there was no telling how large or fast it could grow. As soon as the trees are caught in the killzone, though, it would be irrelevant. Bark would fly in every direction, shredding everybody apart. The patriarch was determined to take the whole herd with him, and in moments he was about to get his wish in the most violent way possible.

Charon covered his eyes, for he was on the verge of tears. It all happened again. His attempts to protect those he cared about ended in their deaths. At least this time he would die as well, and at least a few he cared for would be absent from this horrid scene and find away to live on. Lily and Ivy. The two would be devastated to find out about this massacre.

"DADDY! STOP IT! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

The raichu's heart skipped a beat, seized by a newfound terror as he revealed his eyes and snapped his head to the source of that voice. He was not the only one. The violence of the scene screeched to a halt and disappeared. The stormy clouds overhead dissipated, revealing the blue sky again. Heads turned, jaws dropped, and bodies petrified in place. The patriarch, in particular, popped his eyes as he froze, for he thought he was seeing a ghost.

On the opposite end of the clearing a maiden vulpix had appeared. Upon her tails hung the pikachu Sophie, who proved too weak to stand against the fox's resolve. On the head of the maiden vulpix stood the pichu Ivy, the patriarch's daughter, filled with newfound courage but also visibly upset.

The offspring's appearance struck everyone dumb, for she was the last rodent anyone expected to be here. They watched as she hopped off Lily's head and walked straight towards the patriarch. Normally, so many eyes would make her nervous, but her gaze was locked upon her father as everyone watched. They even began to clear the way for her so she could stand before the patriarch. Sophie let go of Lily's tails and rose to her feet, her heart palpitating over the fact that she failed horribly to keep Ivy safe. Lily's eyes met with Calien's. The male expressed utter disbelief in his gaze to his mate-to-be. The maiden nervously kept her distance now due to the state of her heat, but her gaze begged for forgiveness.

As soon as the pichu was before the patriarch, she broke the silence again. "Why are you hurting everyone, daddy?"

"You…you can't be real," the patriarch stammered, almost choking on his words, "My daughter ran away, never to be seen again. She would've been eaten by a snake or starved to death in a hole in the ground."

"I'm real, Daddy," Ivy insisted, "I came back! I was looking for mommy. Charon helped me. Lily and Calien did too," she added, pointing to the three in that order. "They wanted me to be happy again, even though we couldn't find mommy, so I came back with them. I don't want you to hurt them either, daddy. You hurt Charon really bad!"

"Ivy…" the patriarch took a deep breath. "…Do you have any idea how much it hurt me, your father, when you disappeared and I was cold and alone every night since? Right now I am fighting the urge to hold you in my arms, for if you are the warden's trick I would not be able to bear the pain."

"I do know how that's like, daddy! You drove mommy away!" the pichu exclaimed.

"Your mother was unfaithful!" the patriarch suddenly snapped. Everyone standing recoiled at the outburst, while Ivy shrank and trembled before her father. The reaction from the pichu cowed the patriarch's anger significantly. He paused before continuing: "Please, Ivy, you must understand. I could tell she was unfaithful. After you came into our world, your mother began to change. She grew distant as I grew closer to you until she would no longer rest with me. I knew you were not the reason because she still doted on you when I wasn't around, so it had to be because she set her sights on another! She called me crazy when I confronted her but that was all the more reason to believe it was true! She betrayed us! I had to make her leave!"

The patriarch's voice had risen in volume again, but yet again he caught himself. His tone grew bitter. "And then…and then when you ran away, just weeks later, I felt betrayed again. But I didn't blame you. I blamed the gender that gave me promises of love and affection and stabbed me in the back when they lost interest. Had I not met your mother, and not have you, I wouldn't have suffered the way I did. My gender was better off not playing their game. I, as the patriarch, could see to that."

Those closing words of the patriarch invoked newfound anger in the pikachus. They wanted to lash out barbs of the tongue at the raichu. Males and females alike shot incredulous glares at him. Were it not for the pichu standing near him, the group would've shocked the patriarch even more violently than before.

Charon whispered to the air. "Hey, Katar…now would be a good time."

"Daddy…you're not saying all there is to say," Ivy spoke, insisting to press towards the truth. "Mommy never saw another. She was mad at you because you tried too hard to protect me. You didn't use your power right. She told me so. And then when you drove her away…you changed. You'd hold me tighter and tighter every night. You'd never take your eyes off me. And then….and then you started to touch me. In a bad way."

"No! That's not true! Even now you don't understand! All I ever did to you was kiss you. Kisses are an expression of love. You know this! And yet you speak as though I tried to make a mate out of you! I would never ravish you like that!" the patriarch proclaimed.

"You kissed me like you would kiss mommy. You wouldn't stop. You scared me. " Ivy began to grow teary. "I thought you'd torture me like mommy said other raichus would do, the ones not in our herd."

The glares of the pikachus upon the patriarch grew angrier still. The raichu, however, now felt seriously wronged. "Tell me, daughter. If you are so scared of your father, then that foreigner that came back with you should've terrified you! Why did you bring HIM!?" He pointed accusingly at Charon. "The only reason he would be here is to take my power for his own! He'd exile me, or kill me, without a second thought. He would've claimed your mother as his mate if she were still here. Do you want to rip your own family apart like that!?"

Charon struggled to rise to his feet until he eventually stood a short distance away from the patriarch and Ivy. To the other raichu, he bluntly stated, "You ripped your own family apart without anyone's help. I don't give a damn about your power. Your kind of power is only good for fear and killing. The only thing I want is a family to call my own: a mate and offspring who'd love me for who I am. I ruined my chance for that once before and I wasn't going to let this chance go, but with an asshole like you fucking everything up because you want to punish the girls over a paranoid bullshit lie, you make raichus like me look even worse than usual. Do you really blame me for wanting to do something about that?"

_Any moment now, Katar! He's getting pissed again! _Charon thought.

"You stick your nose where it doesn't belong!" the patriarch snarled, starting to spark electricity from his cheeks, "Even if you did have a chance to defeat me, which you don't, no female here would accept you. _My own daughter_ would not accept you. There's no way she would've traveled with the likes of you!" he pointed his accusing paw now at Ivy. "This is an illusion, a wretched minion of the warden! Even now he takes glee in tormenting me! I'll strike this ghost down and then destroy the lot of you!"

As Ivy's eyes grew wide from the words of her father and the terror shared by the patriarch's enemies reached its peak, Charon saw as Katar finally materialized before the patriarch's face. No one else, not even the patriarch in his anger, realized that a gastly floated right before the raichu's view. He looked into the countenance of his enemy with utter disgust.

"You, rodent, are a fool," he stated. An enormous tongue spilled out of his mouth and lashed against the patriarch's body from the waist to the cheeks. The raichu staggered back with a cry as the ectoplasm in the tongue's saliva seized his muscles and rendered them useless. The power in his electrical sacs disappeared as the patriarch fell hard against his back, now limp and defenseless. His face, however, had no trouble expressing hysterical, primal fear.

"No, no, no! Curse you, warden! Curse you and all poltergeists!" the poltergeist cried.

It took a moment for the group, aside from Charon, to realize that the patriarch was now at their mercy. The pikachus began to circle close around the patriarch now, entertaining in their minds what to do now with the raichu. Ivy was now cut off from her father. With a deep sigh she collapsed to a sitting position, quietly hanging her head.

"Ivy! Listen to me," Charon suddenly called for the pichu. "Your dad's no longer fit to lead. Since your mom isn't around, you get to make the decisions, and there's a decision we need you to make right now. As long as your dad's around, he'll try to hurt all of us, including you! But we can end this if you'll allow me to kill him. Or we can try to make him go far away, while he's not able to fight back. Whatever you decide, I just want to make sure my conscience is clear, since now we're talking about an execution. I only want to help you."

Charon's offer took everyone by surprise, the pikachus especially so. Cassandra quickly broke away from the group to rush up to Charon angrily. "Now hold on just a minute! Have you gone totally nuts? Ivy's too young to be making that sort of decision. Are you trying to traumatize her?!"

"What? Don't family members have a say in how the herd treats their psycho relatives? Or does the herd get a kick out of killing someone totally helpless?" Charon replied. "We no longer _have_ to kill him, and if we do only one of us has to have his blood on our paws. Might as well be me. But, we can do whatever the patriarch's daughter wants us to do. Well, as long as it doesn't let said relative go loose and try to kill us all again, of course. Oh, and while you're here: Botana! Come over here!"

The chikorita was all too pleased to follow Charon's command as she ran up to stand by the raichu's side. "What is it, Charon?" Botana sang.

"Cassandra's boyfriend got thrown back in that hole over there. Can you fetch him out again with your vines for her?" Charon asked, pointing to the pit besides the large rock. "I think he will calm her down some."

"No problem!" Botana ran off to the hole to fish Aaron back to the surface. Cassandra, however, didn't budge.

"We're not finished here, Charon! You're just trying to distract me, but you better be listening instead! You're not part of the herd, so you don't have a say in this! Don't you _dare_ try to manipulate her! What we'll do with the patriarch will be the herd's decision," Cassandra scolded with crossed arms. She turned her back to the raichu and began to walk towards the offspring, about to console her. However, as soon as she turned she discovered that Ivy had already approached Charon and the pikachu girl.

"Cassie…I know what I want to do with daddy. I want him to go far away," the pichu told the pikachu, "I don't want him to die."

Cassandra was taken aback. "Ivy…please, listen to reason. We can't just whisk him off somewhere. He's too dangerous to be kept alive! All he has to do is track us down as soon as he recovers and then we'll go through all this again!"

"I could arrange something," Charon stated.

"Like hell you will! You're so full of crap!" Cassandra snapped.

"That would aptly describe every specimen within the animal kingdom! Yet another reason why ethereal beings are superior!"

That voice belonged not to Charon, but to a disembodied boom of vocals that made almost everyone jump in fright, save for Charon. He recognized the voice and the theatrics instantly. A short distance away, Botana's fright made her lose grip of Aaron, dropping him. She hastily apologized in her native tongue and fished down for the pikachu with greater speed.

"So, I hear that someone needs whisking," the voice continued, "Well then, I'm just the poltergeist you need for the job!" It was at that point the forest warden, in all his purple, impish glory, materialized in mid-air above the paralyzed patriarch, sending the surrounding pikachus scattering back, recoiling in fear. Cassandra scooped up Ivy immediately to protect her, but Charon merely walked towards the gengar in order to converse. By the time he was close, the patriarch was already yanked from the ground and slung over the gengar. The raichu stared powerless at Charon, looking ready to soil himself.

"Well hello there, Charon old pal. Saw you were in a bit of a bind, so here I am pulling a _deus ex machina_ to save your heiney yet again. Isn't that grand of me? You know it is!"

"Put me down, you cursed spawn!" the patriarch cried.

"Oh, I'll put you down soon enough, you lovable demented misogynist you!" the forest warden cooed at his catch.

Charon almost felt sorry for the other raichu now. Almost. "Where will you be taking him? His daughter has a right to know."

The gengar answered, "Oh, we'll just send him halfway around the world to become a trainer pokemon again once we give him a little…well, call it mental rehab. He can't cut it as a wild one anymore, so he might as well be under human control again. I can already think of a snot-nosed human child who'd love to have him in a tiny little ball!"

The patriarch's gaze begged for help at this point, but Charon wasn't giving any. When he saw Katar floating beside him, another question occurred to the raichu. "And what about that spirit you bound to me? Will he be free now?"

"Actually, Katar's going to be with you for a little longer still. There's still some things I need him to see before I'd let him do as he please. Hey, that rhymed!"

Katar said nothing, but turned away in contempt.

"In any case," the warden continued, "I wish you the best of luck in fertilizing the womb of the yellow rodent of your choosing. Should be easier now that you're the strongest male by default! That'll make up for your total lack of charisma. Sheesh! You should've asked Arceus to reroll your stats!"

"Who the hell is Arceus?" Charon asked, but then he shook his head. "Wait, you know what? Forget it. This herd's in shambles and I gotta help start putting it back together again before all their females go heat-crazy. Can you just go now?"

"With pleasure! Toodles!" With a bend of his legs, the forest warden leaped with the patriarch in tow. The raichu screamed as the two rocketed through the woods, disappearing in a flash into the trees. Everyone had watched and stared in the direction where the patriarch had vanished. Moments later, though, all eyes of the group now fell upon the remaining, battered raichu in their midst. All except Botana, that is, who at that point successfully yanked Aaron out of the hole in the ground, only to have him yelling as he continued to fly through the air in a parabolic arc and drop upon Charon as he turned towards the cry for dear life. The raichu fell back hard on his shoulders and groaned in pain as his body served an adequate cushion for the pikachu's plummet.

"Woot! I'm alive!" Aaron proclaimed, standing tall upon Charon's chest with his paws thrust towards the sky in a hurrah. Instead of the cheers he normally received, however, all he got from his fellow pikachus were uneasy murmurings and a nervous gaze from Cassandra as the change in the herd's dynamics began to sink in.

"Geez, what's wrong with you, Cassandra?" the pikachu asked, "Aren't you happy to see me? What'd I miss?"

"Can't you tell? They're too busy being scared shitless of me," Charon groaned from below. "I don't have to be accepted by one of their girls to be a member anymore. I could just be the new patriarch instead. You know, since I could beat up anybody here."

"Aw, hell! You've got to be kidding me!" Aaron leapt off the raichu and at once got upset with him. "You better not be thinking of taking my Cassandra, or I'll-!"

"Save it, would you?" Charon interrupted the pikachu, as he rose to a sitting position, "I didn't climb over a mountain and nearly get killed along with two foxes, a walking plant, a haunting ghost, and the only remaining offspring of this herd just for a one-night stand with your girlfriend, pleasant as that'd be. There's still a whole load of bullshit to sift through, but what's a bit more of that at this point?"

Charon's gaze fell upon Aaron, Cassandra, Ivy, and the pikachus, as well as the companions that journeyed with him from start to end. All eyes were upon him as they waited anxiously to see what the raichu would do next.

"Well, don't just stand there," he said to all of them in exasperation, "Got any ideas that'll make this herd better? Let's hear them!"

**Note**: Sorry for the delay. An Epilogue will soon follow. I'm not sure how this chapter stands against the rest of the story, but I would appreciate your feedback nonetheless.


	32. Epilogue

Epilogue

In the evening, within the confines of a burrowed hole in the ground of the forest, two foxes lied close to each other in the dark. Both were vulpixes. The confines of their shelter grew warm from the heat that radiated from their exhausted bodies as they breathed slowly and deeply. The female of the two, in particular, appeared amazed and overwhelmed, perhaps even embarrassed. The male, however, in spite of his missing eye, nuzzled his partner affectionately, for he was as happy as a child given candy.

"You seem quite surprised, Lily," the male remarked teasingly. "Did I not say I would please you?"

Lily burned redder in the cheeks as she turned to look at her mate. "I…I can't deny that you did, Calien."

Calien gently licked Lily's cheek, his ego boosted by the female's answer. "It was rather nice of Charon to help make this hole for the two of us. I think he genuinely felt sorry for how long we were delayed."

"I feel guilty about it," Lily confessed as she lied her head down. Her expression showed concern.

"Why would that be, Lily? Ivy got a family again in the end. That is why you wanted to go."

"It's a surrogate one at best, Calien. Charon's still training on the job, and those girls will want offspring of their own. I'm worried something bad will happen and it'll all fall a-!"

"Shhhh." Calien hushed his mate, gently putting a paw against her muzzle. "You need not worry so much anymore. Charon did say we are always welcome to pay his herd a visit whenever we like. We can always check on Ivy to assuage your fears. But, I think we can safely put our faith in the raichu at this point. The company of that herd has mellowed him out significantly."

As Calien pulled his paw away, Lily's concern was mitigated, but not fully squelched. "Until I'm really convinced she'll be okay…it'll be hard for me to sleep," she admitted.

"Then we will have to make the most of it." Calien cracked a devilish grin as he began to slink his body over Lily's back.

"W-w-wait! What're you doing?" Lily stammered in surprise.

"Making up for lost time," Calien calmly replied, as his paws wrapped around to clutch Lily by the waist.

"But we just did this minutes ag—AAAH!" Lily quickly lost her ability to talk as a more primal mindset promptly took over.

***

On that same night, long after the former patriarch had ceased to be a threat to the pikachus, the raichu Charon found it nigh-impossible to sleep. He had snuck out of the hole in the ground he reluctantly shared with the chikorita, Botana, who had already been lulled to sleep by the warmth of his body. He had continued sneaking past the collection of holes dug in the past few days, all housing pikachus (and a certain little pichu) sound asleep in their shelters, until he came upon a lone rodent patrolling as the night watch.

"Evening, Aaron," Charon greeted, his demeanor subdued. The pikachu spun around in a fighting stance, perhaps a bit too much on edge, but upon realizing it was the raichu, the yellow rodent relaxed his stance and sighed in exasperation.

"Geez, Charon! Why'd you sneak up on me like that? That's just cruel," Aaron whined, "Shouldn't you be sleeping with the plant girl?"

The raichu merely smirked at the pikachu's implication. "I suppose you prefer that I was sleeping with Cassandra instead?"

At once Aaron became miffed. "I told you not to joke about that!" He insisted.

"I know you and the rest of the herd were expecting me to round up a harem from day one, Aaron, but even I couldn't enjoy the mating season without food, shelter, and security. Don't worry, I'll be a patriarch proper in the days to come. I'm just waiting for the search parties to come back before I take that leap."

The pikachu sighed again upon Charon's mention of the search parties. "You don't suppose they'll actually find even one of those other raichus, do you?"

"One can only hope. It's better for them to have a place to belong than to live in exile. Then again, they might just prove a challenge for Cassandra's affection," Charon teased, "She just won't be able to resist a gang of bachelors as big and strong as raichus."

Blood rushed to Aaron's cheeks as he was filled with the desire to clobber the raichu before him. "Dammit, Charon! Stop pushing my buttons!" He cried as he flailed his arms in a hot temper.

The raichu laughed heartily. "Okay, Aaron, I've had my fill. I'm going to climb up that tree over there and lounge for a bit. I need some time to myself."

As Charon walked away from the lone pikachu and began his climb up the bark, Aaron called to him, "Yeah! You better climb that tree, 'cause I'll zap you like a butterfree if you even try to sneak into Cassie's hole!"

"Pipe down, would ya? Some of us are trying to sleep!" a pikachu called from his hole in the ground. Aaron, at once feeling foolish, immediately fell silent but quietly fumed as he resumed his night watch.

Now high from the ground upon a sturdy branch, Charon lied down with his head against the tree as he peered up towards the starry sky through the canopy and listened to the soft ambience of the forest below. For a moment he was away from the troubles of his newfound life, best summarized as a delicate assertion of responsibility and power played out on a daily basis. Yet, during that period of peace, his thoughts still lingered on issues that dangled, not yet fully tied. There was still that one major goal he had yet to obtain.

"You have been thinking about whom to claim for a mate, have you not, rodent?"

Charon peered over to the gastly, Katar, as he appeared floating to the side of him. "Yes, I have. Every waking moment. I can take any girl from this herd I want now and yet if I do I'll drown in my own guilt."

"Because of Azelia?" Katar inquired.

"Because of Azelia," Charon confessed, "I hate it, Katar. I'm on the verge of going crazy. Cassandra and the other females are absolutely beautiful, but any attempt to embrace them would bring those girls to tears."

"Ivy doesn't seem to mind you all that much anymore," Katar observed.

Charon nearly leapt from his lying position. "Ivy's just a pichu! She's too young!"

"She won't be a pichu forever."

"I'm pretty sure mating with Ivy as soon as she evolves would still be rocking the cradle!" Charon exclaimed.

In response, Katar openly groaned. "Your situation is not that dire, rodent, whether or not Ivy's a viable candidate. You know as well as anyone that a female can lust for a mate as much as a male can, especially when in heat. They just worry that you would seize them as a selfish brute would. I think with the right amount of confidence and a mountain's worth of patience, whichever females you take under your wing will quickly change their minds about you."

Charon raised his brow. "You're expecting me to choose more than one?"

"If you count the chikorita, yes. I think sex with her is inevitable. You're the alpha of this herd now. Whether or not you're 'broken' is irrelevant as long as you live up to your title. Besides, if you weren't open to the idea you wouldn't even be sharing the same hole with her."

For the first time in a long while, Charon felt pangs of embarrassment as he turned his gaze away from the gastly. "She does have her cute moments…and she'd do anything for me. It's hard to drive someone like that away. But if I have sex with Botana before I have a proper mate, she'd end up being a crutch. I can't do that to her."

Katar merely chuckled. "Do you ever allow yourself a moment to relax and enjoy yourself once in awhile? You'll never enjoy mating otherwise."

"When I do, I feel like I don't deserve it," Charon replied, "The warden probably told you what happened before I ended up living in the woods."

"Indeed. Your capacity to kill greatly outmatched my own when I was alive," Katar remarked.

"It's not something I'm proud of, to say the least," Charon went on, "I can't bring those lives back, Azelia's or anybody's, but I can bring new life into the world. Whomever I take as a mate, I'll give her and the offspring I seed the love and happiness I denied to those I killed. I know it's not an equal exchange…but it's something."

"Would not wanting to die a virgin also have something to do with it?" Katar quipped.

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Charon grumbled.

***

Far, far away from the forest and the troubles of its inhabitants, deep within human civilization, a pokémon tossed and turned in his sleep. He was embroiled in an intense dream that subjected him to a tension so great that he snapped out of his slumber and nearly jumped right out of his bed in a cold sweat. He found himself back in the shelter of a daycare center, where his trainer had left him after being captured. Disturbed by the imagery he had just seen, he sat down upon his bed and held his brow as he breathed in deeply and gathered his bearings.

"You look like you had a very nasty dream." A zangoose sitting upright in the bed across from the disturbed pokémon had been quietly watching him.

"I dreamt that I was the leader of a herd, with a mate and daughter I loved very much, but I unraveled everything that I cared for by my own paranoia and nearly killed everyone who had relied on me," the pokémon described to his company, "I was a monster."

"You don't seem the monstrous type," the zangoose remarked, "Maybe you just fear becoming one."

"Maybe. But the dream was so vivid I'm almost convinced it actually happened. In fact, I've been having this dream every other night. It's like it's haunting me."

The pokemon's companion giggled a bit. "Now that's just silly. You just want to be a father but worry about doing it all wrong. Don't you have to worry about finding a lover first?"

"I don't even have a name. The trainer just calls me 'raichu.'"

To this, the zangoose sighed. "For not remembering who you are, you sure carry a lot of baggage. You really ought to let me wash those worries away. The trainer's hoping you'll give me offspring, after all, being the handsome male you are."

The raichu shook his head. "It's tempting, but I can't. Not tonight, at least. I hope you understand."

The female shrugged. "The offer's still open if you ever change your mind. Now try to get some sleep." She turned away from the other pokémon and wrapped herself up under the covers of her bed.

For a while the raichu remained sitting upon the bed, quietly mulling over the strange nature of his recurring dream. A part of him was truly convinced that somewhere, sometime, the events that repeated in his slumber actually happened. If he was ever released back into the wild, he owed it to himself to investigate and put his paranoid theories to rest. For now, though, the battles and breeding his trainer planned for him would at least take his mind off such thoughts.

_That human sure was thrilled to have caught me, considering how soon he gave me a female to keep me company. Being his trainer pokémon might not be too bad._

The End

**NOTE:** And with that, another story officially comes to a close. I'm sorry that the story took so long to complete, but I hope that overall you enjoyed following the journey of Charon and his companions. I thank everyone who reviewed and provided their feedback (one of the latest ones was particularly thought-provoking) and hope to hear from you readers at again in the days to come.

-Pathwarden


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